A Dream Come True

Once upon a time (as in last Friday), the company I make my Little Mermaid and Cinderella appearances through hosted their annual Daddy Daughter Princess Ball.  Pirate and Princess Parties know how to make little girls' dreams come true.  The event included appearances by all of the favorite princesses, carriage rides, fancy treats, and a chance to dance to your heart's content.  The night was a dream come true for this girl, too.  I was able to borrow the costume and wig needed to portray Rapunzel. I just adore Rapunzel- her personality, her story, and her amazing hair, of course!

That wig!

It brings me back to my long-haired days...

Beautiful, but I can't imagine trying to maintain it between parties and events.

Hosting princess parties is usually a solo job so it was such a treat to meet all the other sweet and talent actresses who work for the company.  It was fun to swap princessing stories and get tips on costumes, wigs, and make-up from each other.  I especially enjoyed getting to know "Sleeping Beauty" and "Belle." Aren't they stunning?! 

Definitely a night to remember!

Harry Potter Marathon

Not too long ago I learned a sad, sad fact about Patrick... he hadn't seen the Harry Potter movies. (What?!) So, we had a little marathon over the past month and it was obvious Patrick really liked the movies because he was always trying to keep me up way past bedtime so we could keep watching.  Last week to celebrate completing our marathon (because the movies were great, not because we were happy it was all over), we taped up Patrick's glasses (which really are broken!), posed on brooms for some photos, and ate Forrero Rocher "snitches."

Life with this guy is too much fun!

A Year of Dates: February

I received the cookbook "Savoring the Season's with Our Best Bites" at my bridal shower. I remember looking at all the recipes later with Patrick. His eyes lit-up upon seeing a photo of Chunky Monkey Pancakes. I made a mental note to whip them up for him one day.  Here we are 15 months or so later and I finally had a perfect opportunity to do so.  For the Year of Dates gift I made Patrick for Christmas, I chose to serve Patrick breakfast in bed for February.

My makeshift breakfast tray. We had Chunky Monkey Pancakes, turkey bacon, Cutie oranges, and scrambled eggs. (The pancake recipe included how to make peanut butter syrup. Patrick loooooved it!)

Food = A Happy Husband

And a happy husband equals a happy wife.

Hockey & Quinoa Sushi

Mom and I made plans to hang out on President's Day. I had been wanting to try a recipe I found for Quinoa Sushi and knew Mom would be the perfect person to cook and eat it with. The recipe can be found HERE. (I did make one alteration to the recipe. Instead of Agave Nectar, I used one packet of NuNaturals Stevia Powder.) This recipe was a hit! On Pinterest, I moved this from Recipes: To Try to my board Recipes: Keepers because it is one I see myself making over and over again.  The recipe is fairly easy (expect for the rolling... I don't have that part down yet) and healthy and filling. If you like either quinoa or sushi I highly recommend giving it a try!

After lunch, we headed over to the Maverick Center to watch the Grizzlies play a hockey game. Patrick found out Sunday night that he had President's Day off and we were happy to have him crash our girls' day. It was a good day. :)

2 Years!

One nice thing about being set-up on a blind date with your future husband is that you know the exact day you first met. Since Patrick and I are both on the sentimental side, it only seems fitting that we celebrate a "day-we-met anniversary" in addition to our wedding anniversary. (Oh, and we also celebrate the day Patrick proposed because that excitement happened on my birthday. We better be doing some celebrating on that day!)

For our "day-we-met anniversary," it has become tradition to eat at Kathmandu and see a show at the Off Broadway Theatre, just like we did on our first date.  I love looking back on that date. We had such a wonderful time. Why wouldn't we want to experience it over and over each year?!

My camera battery died and I really wanted to get a photo of our date. This blog has become a sort of journal/scrapbook for me where I try my best to document important happenings. I just got a new phone so we decided to try out its camera. I think I have that goofy expression on my face because I was so concerned whether we'd be able to get a decent cellphone photo or not...

Check out last year's "anniversary" date HERE.

Valentine's Day

Patrick spent last week in Dallas training for his new job. He flew into SLC late Friday evening. To say I was happy to have him home is a huge understatement.  I knew I wanted to have a little Valentine's Day celebration even though it would be too late to go out and do anything.  Before heading to the airport to pick Patrick up, I put together a picnic-style fondue.

The Essentials-dark chocolate, strawberries, marshmallows, and heart-shaped Rice Krispie Treats. 

It was the perfect Valentine's. I was reminded that it isn't flowers, a fancy dinner, or expensive gifts that make the day special. It was wonderful just being with my love.

Celebratory Drinks

 Whether the occasion is big or small, Patrick and I always love an excuse to celebrate.  This Thursday we stopped by Starbucks for celebratory drinks- a steamed milk and an iced hot chocolate. (We had a gift card to use up. We love gift cards. We always seem to be getting them from work and as gifts.  Seriously, I don't think we've had to pay to see a movie in ages.) We had both a small and a big reason to celebrate. Small Reason- That evening, my musical theatre students at UCT had their Winter Recital.  Patrick came as my date and it was nice for him to see firsthand what I do.  Big Reason- Patrick got a new job! I'll blog more details soon but for now just know it is a great opportunity for him to put to good use his schooling, talents and abilities, and put us in a better place for the future. Hooray!

Happy Patrick and Mandi.