Here's to you Gossip Girl.

Tonight is a bitter sweet night for me. This might seem absurdly silly to a lot of people, and that is ok. But I also know there are a few of you out there that will totally appreciate this because you have been there with me, through thick and thin, going through our own drama, angst and heartache. And of course those all night marathons.....

Tonight marks the end of an amazing production on television. Gossip Girl. The end to a great show on television, and almost symbolically it feels like, an end to a chapter in my life as well. (It's ok go ahead and laugh all you that don't understand. This post isn't for you. It's for me and my fellow Upper East Siders. )

When I was 20 GG premiered. But, being behind on the up and coming I didn't watch it when it first started. In fact, my good friend Gentri Lee introduced me to the show when it was on it's 6th episode. This episode definitely changed my life in more ways than one. It was an episode about a masquerade ball. Glitzy and glamourous, with beautiful people with exquisite settings and everything they wanted at their fingertips.  (As a side note this episode was the inspiration for my most successful event in my college career. My own masked ball at BYU-Idaho. That holds the school record for the most well attended dance ever... toot toot, thats my own horn.) 

I quickly became entranced by the crazy drama of the show and the amazing actors, the love stories of course, and the fashion. OH THE FASHION! I'd never seen such stylish things. It put everything else I'd ever seen to shame. I immediately had to go out and buy 30 headbands just so I could do my hair like Blair Waldorf's.  Without Gossip Girl I'd have never been introduced to Henri Bendel. I wouldn't have fallen in love with lace and brocade and high waisted skirts and ruffles. This show is single handedly responsible for every single drop of my fashion sense.  

Some of you might be wondering where I'm going with this, I know this is just a TV show to so many people, but for me it was an over exaggerated step by step guide to my life from 20-25.  It really went through everything that I was going through and experiencing, definitely a lot more dramatic, but yet still so relatable, and it helped me feel like that no matter the drama I was experiencing with friends or loved ones that at least it wasn't as crazy as what happened on Gossip Girl last night! 

When I had heartache, Chuck and Blair were there to give me hope of that great passionate love over coming everything. When I was the victim of pointless roommate drama, or of others spreading awful rumors about me, I was able to deal with it the same way S and B did. 

I am grateful for the inspiration, creativity, and confidence that this show brought to me in my early twenties. I'm grateful for the friendships it brought me and I am so grateful for the entertainment and excitement it brought to me every Monday night. 

So here's to you Gossip Girl. We've had a great time. And now I'm ready to grow up and move on, so let's make the next chapter even better.

I am dedicating this post to those girls of apartment  5 1 2: Angela, Allie, Beth, 

and to Brianna, my very own S. 

XOXO

The Mrs. 

The best dip ever...

Cranberry Jalapeno Dip.

In a nutshell this is divine. It's not super spicy so don't let that jalapeno scare you away. The ingredients all meld together perfectly and create one of the most scrumptious holiday treats I have yet to discover!

Here's how you do it!

What you will need:

1 12 oz package fresh cranberries

1/4 C green onion, chopped

1/4 C cilantro, chopped

1 small jalapeno pepper

1 1/4 C sugar

1/4 t cumin

2 T lemon juice

dash salt

2 8oz packages cream cheese

What you do:

Combine everything except the cream cheese and let it sit in the refrigerate for 4 hours. I know this is a long time. But it's worth the wait! Promise. You have to let the flavors meld.

Once you are approaching your 4 hour mark, take the cream cheese out and let it soften a little, spread it out over your serving platter and then spoon the mixture  on top and enjoy with your favorite crackers. I used Wheat Thins.

XOXO

The Mrs.

Gettysburg

Time has once again been flying by. I can't believe we are already through the month of October. My parents came to visit and to get a little taste of fall weather! We decided to take them up to Gettysburg, PA. It was beautiful! The leaves were amazing and the weather while overcast wasn't too cold. It was so amazing to be somewhere that something so meaningful had happened. Hard to believe it has been almost 150 years since the battle at Gettysburg. It was really cool to be there. 

 I would NOT want one of those cannons pointed at me! 

 The landscape was absolutely beautiful! 

 Up on Little Round Top. It had an amazing view of the battlefield.

We explored the battlefield via Segway! 

 We had Lunch at the Dobbin House Tavern. It was really old and very cool! It was built in the 1700's. Their apple cider and French Onion soup was to die for! 

 Downtown Gettysburg was so beautiful! 

On the way out of town we stopped at this place called Ma's General Store. It was full of Junk. But it was really cute junk! They had tons of little mini fountain coke 50's diner style kitchens set up. It was so cool! They also had this little shed that I thought was adorable. 

I highly recommend visiting Gettysburg! It was an amazing town and the views were beautiful. Such a fun trip and even better that I got to share it with my parents!

XOXO

The Mrs. 

Blogging Fail.

Guys. If anyone is still out there, I'm sorry. I am such a failure at blogging! What happened? I was doing so good. And then Summer came, and now Fall is here and I feel busier than ever. Between Primary and Work the last thing I want to do when I get home is be creative and cute. Let's be real I want my yoga pants and the remote. BUT, I am going to attempt to get in the habit of blogging again. Partially because I miss it, and partially because I think it will help me de-stress from my work day. Work by the way is SO stressful. Think twice before you decide to become a surgical scheduler. It is NOT for the feint of heart.

Anyway. I'm going to try and do a highlight real of the last few months for anyone that hasn't given up on my blog. So mom, here ya go!

 We finally took a beach trip at the end of Summer to Assateague Island. Beautiful, but cold and rainy weather. Oh well better luck next year... We still had a good time! 

I became an aunt for the first time in my family, and for the fifteenth time overall. He is perfect and adorable and I think he might be the love of my life. I LOVE HIM!

We went to Disney!

 My job while being extremely stressful occasionally has it's perks. We had an Education Day about a month ago. Let's just say I had an awesome time and I may or may not have gotten to touch a real human spinal cord and assist on some cadaver surgeries. Bomb DOT Com.

John and I took a trip to Philadelphia with our friends the Nokes. It was a beautiful city and we are definitely going to have to go back because it was so amazing! 

I became an Aunt for the 16th time. Winter is right around the corner. It took me 4 hours to make a yarn wreath, and I can't eat enough zucchini now a days. I put it in everything. Yum.

XOXO

The Mrs. 

P.s. The shark week thing. I was so into it. And then our cable and internet went out for the rest of Shark week. Fail. Needless to say we kicked Comcast to the curb and are now basking in the hum of Fios. 

Shark Migration

So every year in Florida we have this little Spring tradition. It's called Shark Migration. If you were born and raised in Florida like I was you know that sharks typically mate between late february and early April. You also know that going to the beach during this time isn't the best idea because it is also Shark migration season. Tens of thousands of sharks swim just off the cost heading North for warmer waters. Don't believe me? The below clip is filmed just off shore of my home home town of Palm Beach. Happy Shark Week.





XOXO
The Mrs.

Shark Week!

GUYS! It's Shark Week! YAY one of the reasons I love August. I look forward to watching the carnage every year! Having grown up on the beach I have a healthy respect for the ocean folk, but I just love learning more about sharks!

In honor of my love for Shark Week, I will be posting a Shark video or photo each day this week! Stay tuned for some of the craziest, most amazing stuff!

My mom gave me a heads up on this video. This was filmed late July of this year off the cost of California!! And made International news! Pardon the language. Maybe just watch it on mute if you have kiddies around...

Enjoy and Happy Shark Week!!!!



xoxo

The Mrs.

What I've been working on!

So I know it has been way to long since I've updated. I was on such a roll earlier this year. And now I have just fallen into a very busy summer (which is almost over?!) How is it already August?! Anyway I just wanted to post a quick update of my latest two accomplishments: 

#1: In light of recent events; tornadoes, earthquakes, and power outages, John and I have decided we need to be more prepared for these things. AKa the end of the world. SO we not only made 72 hour kits(I'll do a separate post on that later) but we also decided that it might be wise if we sharpened up on our shooting skills. Now for those of you that know me, you probably know I'm a little scared of guns. Loud noise, explosives, oh and PS it can kill you. YIKES! Not something I want to mess with. But I've recently had my eyes opened and have formed a new opiniong that it is ok and possibly even fun. Whew.. I said it. As long as your are doing it appropriately and in the correct setting. Like a shooting range with supervision! John is an excellent shot and he has been helping me work on my aim. It has even gotten to be kind of fun to go to date night at the shooting range! We are even looking at taking a course on proper gun handling and shooting stances. Who knew?!

#2: The Sock BUN! My co worker Krissy helped me learn how to perfect this technique! I am so excited because it is so easy and beautiful! YAY!!!

Well that was My last few weeks of July. Not super exciting but I'm trying here! I'll post my 72 hour kit soon!


XOXO

The Mrs.