Holga

My sweet brother got me a Holga camera and film, just out of the blue! I am excited to try it out and experiment with film again. My brother Ryley and his wife Chelse have a knack for giving good gifts. Here is what Chelse gave me for Christmas last year, and here is how to make one of your own!

Stay tune for tomorrow... because you just might, maybe, possibly see the daily buckets first vlog (video blog).

New Hair

I got to spend the day being pampered by my sister. Its her last few weeks of hair school and I had to take advantage of it. I wish I could explain the color processes that she did to my hair. She gave it lots of dimension with putting some reds and golds in there and I LOVE it. She was spot on with the picture that I brought in, and did everything that I wanted. All you Rexburg people go see my sister before she graduates (Branae at Paul Mitchell Hair school). I promise you won't regret it. Thanks sister! I love you.

The Bag ladies

Well it feels good to be home sweet home. And even though I am missing my man I am having a BLAST hanging out with my family. Especially my mom and sister. We went shopping and bought fabric to make these bags! Aren't they the cutest?! I did accidentally sew my finger though.... but hey now I have a sweet hole in my thumb! Yippee. But I'm off to get my hair colored and cut. Woot woot. Look for before and after pictures tomorrow :)

ps. Wanna be a bag lady too? Go here for the tutorial.

Split Second Decision

(image from our honeymoon)

It was a split second decision that changed it all. As I climbed into the back of the truck with my friends I was torn which way to go. On one end was "the quiet guy" who I had been crushing on but at the other end was Alden, who made me laugh and smile. I couldn't help but gravitate toward him. We were all just friends of course, or so I thought. But that night, at the drive in, Alden Aikele put his arm around me. Just some friendly cuddling perhaps? That idea quickly left my mind at intermission when walking toward the "snack shack" Alden reached up and grabbed my hand, slowly interlacing his fingers with mine and rubbing my finger with his thumb almost saying, I'll take care of you.

Last night, filling the car with blankets and pillows, we drove to the drive in and recreated this moment. Racing to the "snack shack" we jumped at the top of every hill along the way. We loaded up a sack with five different kinds of sour candy, because sour candy is our favorite. We like to eat it till our tongue rubs raw or till we get sick, which ever comes first.

On the way back to the car Alden reached up and grabbed my hand, slowly interlacing his fingers with mine and rubbing my finger with his thumb. In that moment I knew he would always take care of me and that the split second decision I made almost two years ago wasn't just the right decision, it was the perfect decision.



This perfect date and mushy gushy post was planned because Alden will be heading to Baltimore for work this weekend and I am off to Idaho to see my family and my brother before he takes off to Chile for his mission. I may or may not be blogging regularly. So don't be alarmed either way. Love you Alden. See you so soon.

Riddle for your brains.

What has over 10 flavors of Torani syrup, a pool table,

all the jellybeans, licorice, and gumballs you could ever want,

a milkshake maker, popcorn machine, and 20 foot bar straight from San Fran?

HAVE YOU GUESSED YET?????????????..........



Our bedroom!

We've turned the party room into our own suite while we are staying with Alden's mom.
Nothing like having a 20 foot bar for a headboard.

Happy St. Patty's day everyone!

We have a winner!

(image via)

I won!
A tray of 12 delicious sandwiches
chuck full of marinated meat(a.k.a lunch for the family business)
from the top meat joint in the area.

Who knew that winning enough meat to make up a whole cow
could make a girl so happy.
That's the power of positive thinking people.

Things that only marriage could teach me

Alden was my best friend long before we were married. Best friends know EVERYTHING about each other right? Well marriage has been an eye opening experience for me. I am learning things I never knew about my "best friend"... not the typical, he-leaves-the-cap-off-the-tooth-paste-and-I-hate-that kind of things. I'm talking about things that make me shake my head, laugh out loud, or put my foot down immediately. Things like this...

I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. But not Alden. Nope. Two feet, same time. I'm still waiting for the moment when he smacks his face.

Alden is sweet and volunteers to turn off the lights every night before we go to bed. The catch? He tries to make it into bed before the light actually goes out. Yep, my husband goes for the impossible, traveling at the speed of light.

Alden would be completely fine with naming one of our daughters Velocity. Actually he would love it. blehhh.

When listening to the radio he likes to sing along. However, it took me 8 months to realize that he doesn't actually know the words. EVER. none of them. Take for example the line, "I just died in your arms tonight"....he interprets to "The stars are out tonight". Perhaps I should give him more credit, he did get "tonight" after all.

Alden is a sweet as can be and honest as the day is long. For example once when I asked him on a scale of 1 to 10 how I looked he said 9, claiming it was because I was still in my pajamas. Good thing it just made me laugh :). This morning when I mentioned the story he said, "the weird thing is, it still makes sense in my head". Husbands, your wife is ALWAYS a 10 ALWAYS. I don't care if she has spinach in her teeth. You better respond with a 10, or a 12 for good measure :)


Have a great weekend everyone!
Prayers to those suffering from the earthquake and tsunamis. My heart goes out.


And Alden, I love you. You are my sunshine.

Crépes!

Spring is coming. You know how I can tell? Strawberries are a $1.50 at the grocery store. That has to mean that spring is coming right? Stocking up on fresh berries can only mean one thing.... crépes.... and for dinner none the less!

Here is my favorite super easy crépe recipe that you just throw into the blender(Recipe courtesy my old roommate Courtney). Bon appétit!

4 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water
2 T melted butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 T sugar

mix the wet ingredients then the dry.
Cut the recipe in half for two people... unless you like LOTS of crepes :)

ps. What are your favorite crépe toppings/stuffings?

Nerd Alert!

Alden and I love to read together. We enjoyed reading our first book together while we dated, got engaged, and even into our marriage. Since then we've read Harry Potter Seven, and just finished the Hunger Games series. SO... whats next?! Here are a few ideas we have had but I would love your opinions!!! Anybody read a good book lately? We would love a great business book, a good fiction, or a great biography/autobiography.

Our Suprise Night out!

We got all dressed up for the night (I listened to Beyonce just like I use to when I would get ready for a date) Then we headed off to Berkeley. The whole way there Alden tried to guess what we were doing. Thats fun. I love keeping people out of the loop, hanging in suspense! mwaaa!

Alden was grinning from EAR to EAR when he figured out that we were going to sushi. Yay, mission accomplished. I got a coupon off of groupon (remember groupon? Ohhhh ya) $30 of sushi for only $15! Even if you aren't the biggest fan of sushi (thats me) you can't resist a deal like that, especially for your husband who LOVES it. It makes him happy and reminds him of his dad. So I thought it would be the perfect surprise date! I am new to sea food..."Hi slimy raw piece of eel on top of sea weed and rice, how are you?"... But of course being a good wify and having a desire to appreciate the finer things in life I indulge. I have to be quick though, because sushi has a way of making my gag reflexes go... I'm not making you sick am I?.... Anyway, short story short, sushi and I are off to a slow rough start but the future looks bright.

The best part of planning surprise dates is that you can also plan surprise desserts! At a French resturaunt... where you order the dessert platter (4 pieces!) to make up for the sushi. Ah ha! Perfect night. Voila!

Weekend Tunes

If you are anything like me you will listen to this song 10 or more times today. This comes as a recommendation from my brother Hayden.... who I get to go see in a few weeks. Yippeee! We eat grilled cheese together late at night while he entertains me... aka makes me laugh till milk comes out my nose. We have history, him being my brother and all. Mostly, its just that our brains are alike because we like to think of wild ideas. We rarely execute these ideas but boy we can dream. Sorry,too much ramblin, just listen to the song and have a great weekend!

In my camera bag

I was so excited to finally get a DSLR last fall (early Christmas present) so I could start experimenting with all the things I had learned in school. Pinching our pennies finally paid off! Photography is a pricey hobby so here is what my bag currently contains....

1. I shoot with a Canon T2i. I love how easy it is to use. A bonus is the awesome HD video it shoots.

2. Standard EF-S 18-55 mm IS kit lens (came with the camera).

3. EF 50 mm f/1.4 lens. We got this lens for Christmas from Alden's parents and I love it. Its great for low light and shallow depth of field.

4. Next on my list! This fabulous camera bag to give me room to grow from Kelly Moore bags.

ps. Tonight is the surprise date night! I'm a little worried that he figured it out. ah!!! Crossing my fingers that he doesn't. Stay tuned for pictures of our Friday night out!

Ashley's Web Favs

Technology is blowing me away right now. There are so many cool things that need to be taken advantage of... and here are a few of my current favorites.

1. Pintrest: I don't even understand the amazingness of this site yet. Basically you can make your own inspiration boards with what you find on the www. Food, fashion, photgraphy, DIY.. you name it. Then you can share with others, pin and repin, is what they call it. Go and check out the site and then go here to Marta writes, she did a post on it today that explains it a bit more and has finally convinced me I need to join and make my own boards.

2. Google Reader: If you follow blogs and you don't use some kind of reader then you are wasting lots of time. Readers let you add blogs you are following and subscribe to in one place so you don't have to jump all around. I love google reader. It lets me star my favorite posts, label posts, and keep up to date on what my favorite blogs are posting. Don't hesitate, do this NOW! And make sure you add the daily bucket.... either click that follow button over their on the right or add my URL to your subscriptions.

3. Groupon: Feels like spam but it is nothing but is a fantastic way to save money! I've already bought two coupons. One was $50 to Nordstrom rack for only 25 buckaroos. Thats half off my friends! I am finding lots of great deals here in the San Francisco area but I am curious how this would work on a smaller scale. Any one in Rexburg using this? Let me know what deals you are getting.

4. iPad 2: Apple how do you do it? I don't know what blows me away more, their technology or their marketing. Go watch the new videos now.

Secret Surprise

And here is what it said...

I wish I could tell you what the secret surprise is for this weekend. But this is one secret I am determined to keep. It wouldn't be a true surprise if he knew now would it?

You've got Mail

My man is getting a love note today.
Yes I folded it just like we use to in seventh grade.
And yes his love notes get delivered to a mini mailbox in our bathroom.
Its suppose to catch his eye when I put the red flag up... but it never does.
I think I'll put the mailbox on the toilet today. That oughta do the trick.

Stay tuned tomorrow to see what it says! I LOVE suprises! Yip!

ps. So for my lack of blogging as of late... I've had blogger log...(Is that a phrase?) Anyway, I NEED YOUR HELP!!!! I had a request for a post about what is in my camera bag so that is in the works but what other requests do I have out there?
Picture posts? Cool finds on the interenet? Music? Posts about how cute my husband is?
What do you guys want to see? Why do you follow my blog anyway? You are following right? Alright, well give me some input please for the sake of the blog.
TTFN. See you tomorrow!