straight shooter

Hey I don't work at all this week! And turns out I only blog at work (don't tell my work)! So I'm going to be gone from here mostly until next Monday I think.

However, I will leave you with a treat. The weekend before Christmas I went to Colorado Springs to visit Katie and drive back to Salt Lake for the holiday with her. We walked past this old timey photo place and talked about how when we were little we always wanted to do it, but knew with the cost and a crapload of kids, it wasn't going to happen for our family.

Best thing about being a grown-up? Being able to fulfill childhood dreams.

See you next week.

hot cookin'

Sometime in November Naomi shared a recipe for Cranberry Orange Scones on her Google Reader. I thought the recipe looked really good and in an uncharacteristic move I printed it, stopped at the store for ingredients, went home and baked. And I was successful! Because my scones looked like the picture scones (which is how you measure baking success right?)!

So I think I've made them like 5 times since then because I like to really pound into the ground a baked good that works for me. I made a bunch last night to give to my co-workers and they're so good and so easy and a nice holiday treat that isn't super sweet. And don't you just want to bake on snowy days anyway?


Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe via The Way The Cookie Crumbles
**I think the recipe makes more like 12 scones rather than 8

forces at work

Last week my friend Nicole hosted a DIY craft night and had found a spectacular wreath of pom-poms for the project. I forgot Christmas is like tomorrow and figured I had enough time to make a Christmas colored wreath...cus how long can it take to make little pom-poms?

The answer is forever when you need this many.

Luckily it's cute enough that it's worth the work! Unluckily, we don't have a door hanger so I'll get around to getting one probably like the week after Christmas.

Which means this will be hanging until June probably.

it's christmas! let's be glad

Blog, did you think I had abandoned you? Well I did.

But it was only a week and I was very busy everywhere on the internets looking at all the crap I want to get people for Christmas (that I won't really get) and looking at all the holiday crafts I'd like to craft (that I won't really craft) and thinking of all the holiday baking I'd like to bake (that I won't really bake). Sometimes it's overwhelming really. Does anyone else think with regularity about how awesome it would be to be independently wealthy? Anybody?

Anyway, I went to a friend's cabin up Big Cottonwood Canyon over the weekend and it was wonderful. Wonderful because we sat around a huge table forever enjoying great food and then moved around the fireplace forever and enjoyed great conversation and some games. And there were Christmas lights and garland and cozy blankets. And all of that would have been enough to make the cabin stay wonderful...but I fell asleep late, late Friday night looking out the giant windows in front of me. And there stood leggy pines outlined against the gray-blue sky, with stars glinting in the dark.

It was peace and stillness like I don't take in often enough. And I thought, hey your life is pretty nice Emily.

So Saturday I woke up to the sounds and smells of Dallas preparing rolled oat pancakes 15 feet away while morning light flooded my sleeping space.

And I thought again, hey your life is pretty nice Emily. Even if you're not independently wealthy.

can't take my eyes off of you

This is what I saw in the backseat of my mom's car today.

He's like an adorable little muppet or something.

getting the done job

Do you ever have 960 items in your Google Reader and the thought of getting through them makes you feel like you've put off a school assignment? Only duh...it's not a school assignment Emily, you have no obligation (but you do because think how good you'll feel about yourself when you get through all of that!).

I also feel like I've accomplished something productive in life when I make it all the way through a TV series on DVD, so whatever.

a sunday smile

Does anyone else's Sunday mornings look like this?

And then lately like this too?

(I totally forgot it was Fast Sunday yesterday)

heroes and villians

I finally saw Fantastic Mr. Fox last night and it made me want to have 10 babies to watch it with (and to listen to the soundtrack with).

this road I'm travelling

I did a terrible job taking photos in California. I think the problem was two fold.

First fold- around Aaron's family and friends I didn't want to be the constantly photo snapping person I usually am around my friends and family (cus maybe annoying).

Second fold- any time Aaron and I are alone, I have a hard time taking pictures of just him and then pictures of just me...cus boring town. I mean, it's not like either of us are Morgan after all.

But here is a quick idea of our time there.

Uncle time!

Sausalito time

Skeleton face time

Pizza time

Tunnel time

Garrett time!

Sibling time

Baby time

So true time