What happens when Daddy makes cookies?

Leila gets to lick the spoon.

149/365

Four words: freshly baked banana bread.
Nothing makes my house smell better. I gave Leila a big piece of bread since it's cake-like to see if she would dive in and to get her ready for her 1st birthday. She dove in alright and tore the bread apart and put it right in her mouth. I don't think we need to practice for the big day, she's ready.

132/365

There are 2 musts when I go home:

1. Breakfast at Stacks - home of the best banana coconut macadamia nut pancakes on the planet. 

2. A high school friend reunion. Of the 6 of us, 3 are married, 3 with kids, 1 in law school, and 2 in graduate school. It's crazy to see how we've all grown up and gone our different paths. Regardless of how much time passes, we're still great friends. I miss my girls...I'm the only one that lives out of state.

125/365

Happy Cinco de Mayo! 

Most people think this celebration is Mexico's Independence Day...wrong. That's on September 16th.

Cinco de Mayo marks the victory of the small Mexican Army that defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla. Hence why it's only celebrated in Puebla, not in all of Mexico. It's a bigger party in the states than in Mexico. Gringo's always love a reason to party... but aside from that I believe we celebrate it here to show the friendship between Mexico and America and because there are so many Chicanos that live in this country. 

Eric isn't getting ready to huck a lougie at McKay...he's just mid sentence.

Sopes...pretty much one of my fave dishes!

We celebrated at El Gallo Giro with our good friends/neighbors Chelsey, McKay, and their daughter Claire. I'd say this place is the best Mexican in Utah County: good, authentic, and cheap. They even make the guacamole at your table.

118/365

What do you do when a friend craves mango sticky rice?

Take her to Bangkok Grill. Yum.

crappy photo's taken with my iphone

110/365

I helped Laura spend her money at Ikea...I'm really good at that. The only thing I picked up was a 17 piece tupperware set for $3.99... are you outta your mind? Now I can organize my tupperware cupboard and chuck my old miss matched ones. 

It was my turn to make dinner for the gang this week, I wanted to try something new so I went to The Pioneer Women and made the best enchilada's (my mom's are still delish but these are pretty amazing). 

We made a few mistakes but since Laura and I made them together we could both take the blame. They were a hit and a keeper for sure. Eric played daddy to Leila and Violet while we made a run to the grocery store. He was so cute with the girls, I couldn't get over it (where was Guthrie you ask, oh he was on his way). 

I don't know what was with us tonight but everything we made came out a little too runny. The sauce for the enchilada's wasn't thick enough and the filling for the key lime pie didn't set, fortunately the flavor wasn't affected. Here is my not so glamorous shot of the pie:

Eric's favorite dessert is key lime pie. I've never attempted to make it because key lime pie seems all too intimidating to me and I end up resorting to the easy desserts (brownies, cake, banana bread, etc.), but this recipe is so easy and better than any store bought pie. The Pioneer Woman is making me look like a good cook. She takes a picture of every step so it really is Cynthia fool proof.

109/365

Love it when someone drops off treats at my door. Don't you just want to lick these off the screen?
I have the best neighbors. Thanks Emily for the funfetti cupcakes...they are t-t-t-t-t-tasty, tasty (Fergalicious).

108/365

In honor of tax day, McDonald's was offering a deal we couldn't pass up: buy one Big Mac or Quarter Pounder and get the second for a penny! We rarely eat fast food, let alone McDonald's, but we felt like being naughty and indulging in a greasy burger. There's something different about eating your burger inside the restaurant versus grabbing it to go, it tasted better.

104/365

Summer time means camping and outdoor cooking...dutch oven style. This class taught me that just because you're camping doesn't mean you can't eat a gourmet meal. I thoroughly enjoyed this class, mostly because of how entertaining Chef Todd is. I don't know why but he kind of reminds me of the character that plays Michael Scott's best friend, Todd Packer, in The Office...just a smidgen. He's not inappropriate like the character but has a sense of humor. The girls may not agree.

We had some delicious food and walked away with the recipes. The menu consisted of: creamed corn, barbecued beef ribs, paella valenciana, lyonnaise potatoes, and apricot snacking cake. Everything was delish but the star of the night was the creamed corn...and of course dessert. I ate myself under the table but still made room to finish that huge portion of cake I served myself.

Dutch oven cooking is kinda like grilling, a man's specialty (well, I say that because I'd prob need Eric's help with at the coals, etc). It's all about understanding the temperature of a dutch oven and knowing how to use it...there's somewhat of a science behind knowing how many coals to put on top of it.

I'd love to go to culinary school but I'd most likely do it just for fun. Eric and I have actually talked about how fun it'd be to open up a restaurant and live above it. Who knows, one day. My neighbor went to culinary school at UVU. I just found out that Chef Todd was her instructor and she has tons of his recipes...including the butternut squash soup! I'm stoked. Blue Lemon offers cooking classes year round...I'll be back for sure.

93/365

My favorite part about the Sunday session of General Conference is that we get to sleep in, lounge in our pj's all day, and make these:

It's become our family tradition to make pull aparts 3 times a year: General Conference and Christmas morning. Eric's family makes these babies on Christmas day. They are too delicious to only make once a year so we had to up it. 

There was something I loved about EVERY talk I listened to. I wanted to keep pausing the TV so I could write every last quote. Luckily, the Ensign will come out and I can highlight the heck out of it. 

Greg, Jalaine and the kiddos left today. It was so good to have them here....it was just like old times: staying up late, playing question of the day, and just plain chillin'! We love them and would LOVE to have them move back here!

92/365

It's General Conference weekend! I look forward to April and October when we can listen to the words of our Prophet, Apostles, and General Authorities of the Church. I always feel so much more inspired and uplifted after conference. It reminds me that I need to take a step back and reflect on my life. 

Saturday morning called for an early morning boys shooting session. They had a ton of guns to play with: 2 shotguns, .22 rifle, 9mm and a 357 magnum.  

 And for your viewing pleasure...here's a video of Eric showing off his 2 handed skills. How many eggs did ya hit babe?

Jalaine and I hung out and ate at the Corner Bakery (yum) and later met up with the boys for some swimming before the Priesthood session. For dinner, Eric made his famous dish: spicy cashew chicken. Always off the hook.

Nice bum shot.

Lexi kept "making" us dinner...first it was brownies, then spaghetti, pretty much whatever we wanted. Everyone had to take a bite out of the sauce pan... Even the little kiddos. 

Lexi kept saying that she and Leila were best friends. It was the cutest thing ever. Leila, did you know you already have a best friend? Lexi loves you so much!

85/365

5 years.

There's nothing quite like the feeling of having a full blown pamper session. Eric and I have been to a spa one other time... it was a gift from a friend when we visited the Philippines 3 years ago. After experiencing a couples massage, we've been wanting to treat ourselves again. Well I think the time has come. We went to The Kura Door Holistic Japanese Spa. At The Kura Door it's all about the experience from the moment you get there. They give you these special shoes and a robe to rock during your stay. The atmosphere is so relaxing. They have a sauna and steam room you can use ALL DAY LONG if you wanted....even if you're just getting a wax or pedicure. First was a 50 min soak in the Ofuru bath. The bath was so romantic, it came with tea, candles, and lots of yummy stuff that made our bath smell good. I could have left happy with the bath alone. We were looking forward to our 60 min massage. This was a time to let go. We didn't have a concept of time. 

I'll never go to another spa...the Japanese spa is definitely the way to go. The service was impeccable. We're going to try to spoil ourselves every couple months. It's the new destination for special occasion's too. When we left the spa we were ready for bed...but the night wasn't over yet.

We are avid lovers of food and look forward to dining at new restaurants. We wanted to hit up a local, non-chain, off the hook restaurant for dinner. We found it at Frida Bistro. It's named after Frida Kahlo, the passionate and influential Mexican painter. It's a gem in a weird part of town, 7th south in the industrial part of Salt Lake. It's a Best of Salt Lake winner and let me tell you its the best gourmet Mexican food I've ever had. They make food look sexy. Yes, food can be sexy. The manager was our server because our server never arrived...and dessert was on the house because we were celebrating the big 5 (thank you Grandma and Grandpa Fuessel for watching our princess). 

Happy anniversary Eric. I honestly believe we are two of the luckiest people in the world. The fun we have, the things we do, the home we've created, our good friends, our wonderful family, and of course, our relationship. 

85/365

Laura tested yet another new recipe on us. Dessert was delish and healthy...until we doused it with homemade butterscotch and vanilla ice cream.

78/365

*I can't help it, we took so many pictures over the weekend I just need to post them all. Can you say picture overload!

THE MORNING AFTER:

After a day of partying, the Blue Plate Diner was calling our name for breakfast. We went with Eric's siblings (minus Greg because he was on his "honeymoon"). This is the BEST place for breakfast in Salt Lake (ok, Finn's is also off the hook). The Blue Plate was on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. Love this show but can't watch it when we're starving. Someday I'll go to every restaurant Guy Fieri's been. John, the owner of Blue Plate Diner, made corned beef and hash on the show. Now We get it every time, DELISH!

Corned beef and hash.

French toast, bananas and walnuts.

Natalie and Dave

Couldn't get a good picture of Kimberly and Audrey.

Leila loves my locket.

These mesh feeders are a dream. I put everything in this baby. Leila loves it because she's in control and can actually eat stuff with FLAVOR! She's eaten blueberries, bananas, pancakes, hash browns, turkey, chicken, and more to come. She also LOVES water and enjoys when I feed it to her from a straw.