besties of 2008.

dear amanda + aj,

i loved your best of 2008 posts.

love,

emma

favorite shampoo/conditioner: scruples white tea. it is pure magic. who knew white tea loved hair so much. it is pretty pricey, but if you get it on sale/your bff malorie gives it to you for christmas, you're in business.

favorite hair product: la looks curl gel. it gives my hair its curly bouncy goodness for only $1.94 a pop.

favorite beauty product: mac mineralize skinfinish. gives my skin a light shimmer polish. also the sonia kashuk powder brush is the nicest, softest brush ever and its from the one and only target. i love you target.

revlon lipgloss = the best. i have it in multiple colors and love it. no stickiness whatsoever.

maybelline sky high curves: it really curls my lashes without an eyelash curler. greatest grocery store mascara.
favorite perfume: mochino funny.
favorite must have of all time: burt's bees lip balm. so minty and fresh. isaac got me addicted and i love it because it reminds me of him.
favorite store: nordstrom. all you could ever need in one store. seriously. food and everything.

favorite jeans: "lindsey" skinny jeans from forever 21. best $12.50 jeans ever. and they fit as well as my designers.

favorite shoes: my sugar boots. i cannot live without boots in this icy weather. these boots go with everything and i get so many compliments. i also have them in a black/blue/gray floral print.

favorite restaurant: i picked 2 because i love food so much. first, market street grill. best prime rib/salmon/bread/salad/dessert in town. location of the biggest celebration of my life: our wedding dinner.

happy sumo. isaac and i love this place. we would eat here 2+ times a week if we could.

favorite movie: twilight. that edward gets me every time.

favorite tv show: 30 rock hands down. i laugh so hard every episode.

tina fey + tracey morgan + alec baldwin = hilarious.

favorite book: fast food nation. i read it for a health economics class and loved it. i learned so many cool facts. did you know that the average american drinks 56 gallons of soda a year, roughly 600 12 oz cans. holy cow people. did you know that 4-5 fastfood workers are murdered on the job each year. did you know that the average american eats 30+ pounds of french fries each year. again, holy cow people. thank goodness i'm not average. if you are at all interested in nutrition, this is a must read.favorite thing to happen in 2008: i met this boy. best thing to ever happen to me.

i love you 2008.

the big two-two.

Guess who is now 22.

me me me.

I had the best birthday everrrr.

I went wedding dress shopping with my mom during the day and found "the one". I knew it was the perfect dress the minute I put it on...and now I have to wait 12 weeks to get it. I still do not understand why it takes so long but whateves. Then Isaac came up and we went to dinner with my parents at Market Street Grill in Cottonwood, my favorite restaurant. Also the location of our wedding dinner! After we celebrated with the fam and I opened all my fab gifts. And my dad snapped some pics of me doing it...

Do I look 22?

This boy made my birthday oh so special.

This mini cake was sooo so so so yummy. I dreamt about it the other night...

After I made my wish. It was a good one.

The ultimate: 120 gig ipod.

What am I do to with myself and all this space for song after song after song?

Good thing my fiance knows everything there is to know about the best music.

Hello cricket.

My sis gave me this magical Cinderella card (because I'm Cinderella, oh hey Snow White...you know who you are) and this fab Betsey Johnson necklace. Love it.
My monthly journals from Pottery Barn! I have had my eye on these for quite some time. I plan on filling them with stuff from our first year of marriage.

Isaac's mom made me this gorgeous apron in my wedding colors!! I love it so much. I wish I had a better pic to show you. She also gave my a Martha Stewart cook book! I love love love cook books, although I am yet to become a chef (baked goods are my specialty)...but with Isaac's help and that cookbook, I will learn to cook!

My very favorite gift of all.

Probably about a month before my birthday, I was telling Ike about how much I love Valentine's Day and the Necco Sweetheart candies. And I just mentioned how much I loved the yellow ones (they are the best). Sooo for my birthday he got a bunch of boxes of Sweethearts and picked out all the yellow ones for me! Can you believe he remembered that! I barely mentioned it once.

It really was such a great birthday, I am so happy!

Other updates:

I started school last week, I am so burnt out and dunzo already. But guess who graduates on May 8th! Bachelor's degree here I come! Luckily I left a bunch of easy classes for my last semester that I am taking online, but let me tell you, it is hard to get motivated! Especially while planning a wedding. And working 2 jobs (icky ick). But good news, my application to double major in nursing is in and now I just get to wait it out to see if I get in.

Isaac and I have been apartment hunting, I am getting sooooo excited! If anyone has any good tips about finding an affordable, nice place send them our way!

I am so ready for May to be here. I am tempted to start a countdown, but in the past I have gotten so annoyed with other people's countdowns that start like a year in advance so I will shove that temptation far far away...

goodbye.

Asian Shrimp Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 large green onions, chopped
1 Tbs. fresh ginger, chopped
1/2 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. orange zest
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. chili oil
3 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. rice vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbs. rice wine
1 Tbs. cornstarch
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1-1/2 lbs. asparagus
orange slices for garnish
lettuce of your choice
cooked long-grain pilaf


Instruction:

In a large bowl, combine the following: shrimp, green onions, chopped ginger, minced garlic, orange and lemon zest, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, chili oil, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1/2 cup chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste. Stir, cover and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to marinate.

Whisk together remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth and 2 tablespoons rice wine with 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Heat remaining tablespoon of sesame oil in a saute pan; add shrimp and marinade and saute until shrimp is pink. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl. Add cornstarch mixture to pan drippings; add asparagus and cook for approximately 3 minutes. Return shrimp to pan and rewarm for approximately 2 minutes -- be careful because asparagus cooks very quickly and you want it to stay crisp.

Serve on a bed of lettuce; spoon rice pilaf on top of lettuce and ladle the salad over rice. Let the salad sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

something's wrong...

with me.
seriously.
it is 1:55 am and I am still awake.
i woke up at 6 am this morning and worked 14 hours

today and am now up surfing the web planning our

wedding wedding wedding.

i can barely keep my eyes open.

help!

i am just so stinkin excited to marry this one...

little babes.

Lookie lookie at this picture I just found of me and my sister Jenna. I remember the day we bought this outfit, we were in Ross. I had to BEG my mom to buy it for me and she finally caved. Oh man did I feel like a star.

biggest news yet.

I AM ENGAGED!!!

Can you believe it! Isaac asked me to marry him on Christmas Eve and its now almost been 2 weeks, that shows you what a terrible blogger I am.

We are so excited!

We are getting hitched on Saturday May 9, 2009 in the Salt Lake Temple.

Soooo here is how Isaac did it. He is so sneaky, I had no idea it was coming. We have been talking about getting married for a few months now but Isaac made me believe we wouldn't get engaged for a few months. He even suggested we wait until after I finish nursing school (if I get in of course) which would be August 2010 and I cried a little. Seriously. I told him my friends were all predicting that we would get engaged around Christmas or my birthday and I just told them "nooo noo noo." I later told Isaac this and he was very apologetic that my friends were bugging me about it and it wasn't going to happen. He threw me off so many times.

So for Christmas Eve we planned on spending the night with his family but we went to get some lunch before. We went and had a yummy lunch at Olive Garden and then went back to his place to take a little nap before we went to his parents. We decided to exchange one gift on Christmas Eve and Isaac wanted to go to our favorite park across the street from his place to exchange them. He knows I love that park so I just thought he was trying to my Christmas Eve special... Of course I brought my digi and snapped these pics.

I felt so bad for the ducks because their home was frozen.
Gotcha Ike.

I thought we should take a picture before and after we opened our gifts...

This is before. I am a goof.

I gave Isaac the Magic Bullet he has been wanting since we first started dating. Pretty pathetic in comparison to his upcoming gift for me...

Me before opening my giftie.

I loved the wrapping.
He made me a book!! It is filled with pictures of us throughout our relationship. I loved it. I slowly just flipped through all the pics loving each one and then I got to the last page that said...

"Emma Joy Russell, will you marry me? Isaac Marklin Westwood"

I saw that on the page but it didn't quite register in my brain and I looked up at him and he was on his knee with a ring in his hand! AH!! I couldn't believe it. He asked me to marry him and I just kept saying "really?? Really!?!" I saw the ring and asked "is it real?????" and he was like "is that a yes??" Hahaha I was just so shocked! I of course said yes yes yes times a million. I was so excited. He had been planning this for over a month and I had no idea. He is such a pro at keeping secrets because I pick up on EVERYTHING. Literally.

Isaac's family was close by waiting to come congratulate us and a took a bunch of pictures.

Such shock.

I love my ring. He picked it out himself and I couldn't imagine anything better!

It was sooo cold so my hands were all red and frigid.

It was so fun sharing it with his family. Isaac's mom and dad gave me a locket with pictures in it, one of me as a little girl and one of Isaac as a little boy. It is so cute I love it.

After we were done at the park we went up to Murray to share the news with my family. My dad knew we were going to get engaged because Isaac took him to lunch a few days before to ask him permission. My dad didn't tell my mom because he knew my mom might blow it...she can't keep anything from me. My family was so excited! These are the pictures my dad took and emailed to everyone.

I love this boy so much. I can't wait until May 9!

I have started the wedding plans...I'll post info sooooooooooon.