Baked Potato Soup

Need a nice yummy soup to warm you up this fall? Well, this is definitely it. I am not a big soup fan, rarely eat anything but chicken noodle. (I know, I'm lame.) But I saw this recipe and I HAD to try it! It was as good as it sounded, better even. My husband LOVED it, and so did I! Hope you all love it too.

1/2 cube butter

2 teaspoons minced garlic (or 2 cloves)

1/2 c. flour

4 1/2 c. milk (I used 2%, but any kind will do)

1 (14 oz) can chicken broth

6 medium baking potatoes, baked

2 c. grated cheddar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 1/2 c. sour cream

1 bunch chopped green onion

1 package of bacon

Bake potatoes in oven on 300 for about 3 hours.

Melt butter in a stock pot over medium heat.

Add garlic and saute for 30-60 seconds until fragrant. Add flour to pan.

Slowly add milk a little at a time while whisking constantly to eliminate lumps.

Whisk until smooth and then add chicken broth.

Bring soup just to a simmer and heat until thickened, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

Once soup is thickened, turn heat down to medium-low.

Cut potatoes in half length-wise and use a spoon to scoop out potato flesh into the pot.

Use a spoon or whisk to smash potatoes, breaking up large clumps.

Add grated cheese and salt and pepper and stir until cheese is melted.

Remove pan from heat and stir in sour cream, green onions,and crumbled bacon. (Don't use all the onions, bacon and cheese.)

Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into bowls and top each serving with the remaining onions, cheese, and bacon.

Happy Eating. Xoxoxoxo

Friendship-

I know, I've been totally MIA for like a month. Sorry, life just gets busy. But I'm back for a min. :)

- I have had some experiences in my life, as I'm sure you all have as well, and am just feeling the need to express my thoughts today. So bare with me..

In my life I have had the privilege of having some GREAT friends! Great friends! Some I've only just met recently, and some who have been through it all and back with me. I've unfortunately had some not so great experiences with friends. You see, I am a total push over. True story. I could never admit this; until now. Long story short- sometimes people took advantage of that fact, because well, I let them. I'm not saying I'm the perfect friend, far from it actually. I've just now finally realized that I can't fix everything, I am not perfect, I'm only human. I know that as hard as it is to admit, I can't hang on to everything, and try to make everything better. People grow up, and sadly they grow apart. The reason for this post is for me; for me to finally realize that it's okay to let go...

I have thee BEST Friends in the entire world and I'm so grateful for all of them in my life- they are truly so precious and special to me! I could not ask for better friends. I found this quote the other day- this is SO true for me-

" Those truly linked don't need correspondence. When they meet again after many years apart, their friendship is as true as ever."

-These quotes describe what I'm trying to say perfectly. :) Hope you all have some wonderful friends in your life too.

Cinnamon Roll Cake!!!

I got this recipe off my sister Chantele's blog- My Writing Bug. Her blog is amazing by the way- she is an awesome writer. She found this recipe on Pinterest. Doesn't this look delicious!! I am dying to try it! I'm actually going to make it as soon as I post this. I'll let you know how it turns out! My sister said it was SOOOO good! YUM! Can't wait!! Hope you all enjoy it too! Find the recipe Here.

(Side note: After making this cake, I now know that you need to cook it at least 10 to 15 min longer than the recipe says.)

GO BYU!

Can you say BYU fans?! My family of boys is all ready for tomorrow's BIG game! :) Yes, I admit- I'm kinda excited too. See, this is what living with three boys does to you. Ha ha! Plus, my shirt is sparkly- and as long as I can still be cute and girly, I'm in! Oh, and please BYU- let's kick some butt tomorrow! It's my birthday you see- and that would just make it all the more fun!

GO COUGARS!

It's BACK!

Yes, that's right ladies and gents, my favorite show is back tonight! EEEK! I'm so excited! I'm in love with The Vampire Diaries. True Story. Even though I watch it alone most of the time and it scares the crapness out of me- I heart this show.

Awww... Stefan and Damon how I've missed you these past few months. Sigh. (Yes, my husband knows that I have crushes on both these hot men.) I'm not ashamed either- I mean who doesn't love these two?

If you haven't watched- Your missing out. :)

I'm also a bit intrigued about this show. The Secret Circle. It's the series premier tonight after My Vampire Diaries. It's about witches. I'm kinda a witch loving girl- I've always wanted to be a witch. Ha ha! So I think I might check this show out. Happy show watching- xoxoxoxo

What I'm reading next...

I actually bought this book a while back- well, it just came out a few months ago, but I haven't had time to read it yet. It's actually a book we are reading in my book club too- It's a dystopian novel- I really like dystopian books, and I'm so excited to read it- Many people have loved this book. A reading I will go. :)

Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.

Spooky Soap!

I am a sucker for Halloween decorations, anything Halloween. I. Love. So naturally, when I saw these super cute Halloween soaps at Bath and Body Works, I couldn't resist the temptation..I HAD to have them.

They all smell so good- different fun variety of flavors too. The black spiderweb is marshmallow. WHAT? Love it! I'm also a sucker for the pumpkin spice smell - it's so fallish and delicious smelling.(Don't worry- I wont eat the soap, hopefully.)The funnest thing about these is the Skeleton- The flavor is green apple candy. Yum. AND it glows in the dark! He he! So fun right? My boys LOVED it. I got a great deal- five for 15 bucks. Awesome. I can still use some after Halloween as my son pointed out- "Mom, we can use these pumpkins one's for Thanksgiving!" Yes, yes we can. There is a deal going on right now- 4 for $15 or 6 for $20. Check it out here.

It's Batastic-

My super awesome friend asked me to make a batman cake for her little boys 4th birthday. I haven't made a cake since February- everything just got crazy right after that- with my husband getting a new job, him graduating and us moving. Let's just say, I didn't have much time to make cakes. So when my friend asked me to make this- I was a little scared...I thought I would be too rusty- and batman..that was a harder one. :) I got to work brainstorming ideas- and after my kitchen literally looked like something blew up in it, ha ha- this is how it turned out.

As my wonderful friend said it so well- it's Batastic! Ha ha! I don't know about that- but I think it turned out pretty good. :)

I LOVE love...

Fabulous peanut butter cookies.

I love trying out new recipes- I already have a recipe for peanut butter cookies- but I saw this one and tried it. Delish- that is all I'll say!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup flour

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients (except the flour) together with an electric mixer until combined. Add the flour slowly to the mix on low speed. Do not over mix the flour. Place on cookie sheet using a cookie scooper, or a spoon, which is what I used. Press a fork on top of the dough and make a criss-cross pattern. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. They fall apart easy- but they are best that way. :) Enjoy!

A little sparkle-

I saw this on Pinterest, and I thought it was SOOO cute! :) Sorry, I'm doing another post on nails, but that is just what I'm into right now.

This is pretty self explanatory- paint your nails like normal- but paint just one sparkly! So fun!! :D

My Memories Giveaway!!!

My great friend is hosting this awesome giveaway on her blog!

My Memories is an award winning digital scrapbook software that is extremely easy to use!

Go check out her blog and enter to win here!


She also has a coupon for $10 off the purchase of the My Memories Suite software, and $10 in free merchandise. The coupon code can be used as many times as you want.
Here is the coupon code: STMMMS7824

Good Luck! Thanks for telling me about this contest Britt!

Shatter-

I really thought this nail polish looked awesome! So of course I had to try it.

First: Paint your nails whatever color for the base. I did two different colors because I'm weird like that. :)

Second: Make sure your base coat of polish is dry. Then add your Shatter polish. The first time I tried it, I put too thick of a coat over my base polish- it worked, but I didn't like it as well. This time, I just applied a thin coat of Shatter and it looks much better.

Third: Watch it shatter- then apply a clear coat of polish to give it that extra shine. I haven't touched mine up yet, sorry for the little smears, but I was in a hurry! Note: If you like things perfect and put together this nail polish is not for you. It just shatters any which way it wants. ;) I think it's funky and fun! I ordered mine online because I couldn't find it anywhere cheap. But low and behold just after I bought mine, I see it at Wal Mart. :)

Rainbow Cupcakes-

I saw this idea a while back, and have been wanting to try it for a while. The boys helped a lot- they also picked out the cupcake liners- hence the MVP design. :) I started out by making the cake mix- then dividing the mix into four different bowls. I used Betty Crocker NEON (we like things bright) Gel food colors to make the mix different colors.

Note: These are far from perfect- so sorry they look a bit messy. I just scooped purple in the bottom of all the liners first- then put the rest of the colors in, one by one so the colors would stay divided somewhat.

Good thing I have a dishwasher now. ;)

Look how cute and colorful!

Aren't they so fun?!

My boys picked the icing colors as well, notice there is no pink and purple- sigh. What I sacrifice for those two. :) It was fun and easy- I may try a cake next time.

Being a mom.

It's so weird to think of me as a mom. I know I have a 5 year old, almost 6 year old-so I've been a mom for almost 6 years, but it still blows my mind that I'm old enough to be a mother-to be responsible for these precious lives. It just made me realize how lucky I am to be a mom. Also-that I'm not as young as I want to think I am anymore- I'm going to be 27 next month. Not sure how I feel about that. It weird...I can still remember being in high school and not having a worry in the world-except what I would be doing that night? It funny, sometimes I think about my little sister, so carefree-she can just go home at night and sleep, not worry about someone waking up, she can leave the house whenever she wants, do whatever she wants, only worry about her..I'm not going to lie, sometimes I wish I was young and carefree again.(only on the especially hard days though) But as much as I loved being young, I love being a mother ten times more. Even though, yes it is hard. I wouldn't change it.

I LOVE being a mom-it is a special, wonderful, amazing, and the most gratifying experience of my life. To hear those sweet boys, say they love me all day long, to get hugs and kissed from them, to hear see them learning new things. To watch them play with each other, and see their little personalities come to life, I could go on and on. It definitely makes me feel like I'm doing something right, in this crazy thing they call motherhood. I'm so blessed to have these boys in my life and so thankful that Heavenly Father trusted me enough to be their mother.

Sometimes though, being a stay at home mom; well I think it has made me a little anti-social. That sounds weird...but if it wasn't for my sisters, mom and the few friends whom I love and see..not enough I might add, I think I would be really awkward around people. I feel like staying home all the time, I've lost all my social skills. Because let's face it, I stay at home most days talking to these little guys all day. Which, don't get me wrong, I LOVE staying home with my boys and being their mom. It's just hard sometimes...I am really shy...when I don't know people very well. I mean if you know me, people would say, "YOU, shy? Never!" Ha ha! And that is true, when you know me I'm ridiculously crazy and loud! Well, that's what everyone tells me anyways. :) So with me being shy, and having a hard time talking to people I don't know anyways, staying home has only made me worse. I think that is normal though..I mean you go form this life; social, friends, parties, never home, staying out late. Then get married, and that changes a bit, but then you have kids, and they are not joking when they tell you that it CHANGES your whole life! You go from talking to people all the time, to just chillen' with your kids all day. I am so lucky that I have my friends who are always there for me, even though they live in different states, and my book club girls whom, I love..My family who I'm still so close too. I would be lost without them all.

I often think..what am I doing with my life? I have not accomplished anything in these past few years. Except being a wife and a mother. I have friends who are successful in the their careers and writing books, and so many others doing things with there lives. I sometimes feel inadequate compared to them all- because, let's face it I'm just a mother. I am running my kids to preschool, Kindergarten, soccer, swimming. I used to think that I was not good enough and I was not sure where my life was going- but I have come to realize that I was meant to be a mother. That is my job, and it will be my job forever. And yes, I still have days when I feel like I have nothing going for me. But most days, I am content just being a mom. I'm just going to focus on raising my boys. I know this is one of the hardest most gratifying jobs in the world, and I'm so lucky to be able to be a mother.

" Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction."
- Elder M. Russel Ballard

-"It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it." :)

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother."

"Sisters, we love you. We pray for you. Be strong and of good courage. You are truly royal spirit daughters of Almighty God. You are princesses, destined to become queens. Your own wondrous story has already begun. Your 'once upon a time' is now."
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Red Mango!

Today I'm posting about my most favorite yogurt ever. Serious. It's sooo delish. I could eat it everyday. I don't- I only said I could. ;) Red Mango. My favorite kind is pomegranate and original swirl. Mmmmm..my mouth is watering just thinking about the frozen goodness. I of course go without all the fruit, but most people love it. So when you get a chance, go get some yummy Red Mango yogurt- it will make you happy. ;)

Lovely lotion.

I'm not one to use a lot of lotion. I just buy it for the smell. I feel like they make my hands feel soft for about an hour- if that, then not so much. So I never really put much on, even though my hands get pretty dry sometimes. I've just never found anything that I love. I either love the smell. Or I get a moisturizer and it's smells awful. My mother in law gave me this HEMPZ lotion a few weeks ago. She told me that is smells good and it's so lovely..:) I thought what the heck? I'll put some on. I love it. It not only smells divine- (mine is pomegranate.) it also moisturizes my hands sooo good. My legs too, it's body moisturizer and it's spectacular. Even though I only need to use it once a day and my hands will be soft ALL DAY, I find myself using it as often as I can. Mine is actually almost halfway gone. What? Yes, ladies it's true- believe it or not, I've found a lotion that I love! I looked it up to see how much it is..and it's pretty pricey. But so worth it. I found some online that was about $11 on sale right now, it said they retail for about $26. So that is a great Sale. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

I'm in LOVE.

Yes, that's right folks as most of you know, or will soon come to find out- I LOVE to read. I read all the time and have read so many books, I can't even count them all. I am not a picky reader. I like most anything- and lately, I've liked what I've been reading. I haven't had a book grab me though, like one that I can't put down for a while- until now....

-The River Of Time Series.

These could be my most favorite books ever. Serious. I am so in LOVE with them right now. I read WATERFALL- the first book in the series a few days ago, from the first paragraph I was hooked. If you like romance which is a MUST for me- what can I say I'm a sucker for love stories. This one not only has love, romance, but also knights in shining armor, literally. I mean who wouldn't want to read about a HOT dude who can fight with a sword and take out the bad guys. Not to mention saving one particular girls life countless times. Swoon.

I just finished the second one last night CASCADE- and it was just as good, if not better than the first!

Now, I'm counting the days until Sept 1st, when the final book in the series gets released. You can bet that TORRENT will be on my doorstep that very day.. This is going to be a long few weeks. Just wanted to let you all know- that these books are amazing in every way. So yes, you should ALL go out and buy them. ;)

New Blog.

This is a blog all about girls. Being a stay at home mom is hard- and I just want other mom's to know that you don't have to be alone. :) I've met lot's of mom's that think they can't wear jewelery or even make-up for that matter. Or they don't have enough money to buy cute clothes. That is where you're wrong. I'm not saying that I always look cute- but I do try. I find great deals on my clothes, and no matter what, I always try and get ready for the day-even if it is only me and the kids home. It helps me stay sane, and feel like I am still somewhat my own self, not just a mommy to two beautiful boys I might add.:) I love shoes, purses and anything girly.

- I will be posting about all my favorite make-up, my favorite recipes, my recent cake making endeavors. I took a cake decorating class last year, and went on to teach myself how to make fondant. It's quite fun, but still a work in progress. I'm an avid reader. Love it- it's my favorite down time activity. So, I'll be posting what books I'm reading. Also, my favorite shows I'm watching. And much more. This is just a fun blog that I decided to do.

I get a little lost in all the boys stuff going on at my house, I have two boys, a husband, and puppy named Ryder. So as you can plainly see it's me in a house full of boys. :) As much as I love all the boyness- I also am in need of some girl stuff, so I hope you all enjoy my blog of all things girly. :)