mr. mayer.

guess what! my hubby is taking me to see john mayer tonight and i couldn't be more excited. and we'll be enjoying him from the 6th row!

dear john and isaac,
i love you both and can't wait to spend the evening with you.
love, emma.

boyfriend.

i love boyfriend jeans. i bought a pair from old navy for dirt cheap this spring and i wear them like crazy. the other day i was at my parent's house and needed to borrow some jeans to make a quick trip to the mall {i was wearing some really cute sweats} and my mom let me wear her pair from the gap. they were so soft, stretchy and comfortable. i desperately want a pair of my own.

hi hello.

we're back from our relaxing weekend, it was perrrfect. we even stayed an extra night to extend our fun and it was really rough to come home. my mother-in-law recently hung the quote pictured up in the cabin and i love it. i feel so centered and connected after time away from the hustle and bustle. how was your weekend?!

weekend getaway.

today we're headed to our cabin for a relaxing, technology free weekend - just the two of us. it will be lovely to have my hubs all to myself free of business calls and the distraction of the internet {we're both a little addicted...} happy weekend!

sundance.

on tuesday night isaac and i partook in one of our favorite summer activities, the full moon lift ride up at the gorgeous sundance resort. we did it when we first started dating {see it documented here} and we've loved going ever since.

it is so romantic to ride the lift together in the cool, dark night enjoying the beauty of sundance. oh, i just love it! they are doing it one more time in september, so if you're local you really must go.

also, i am also very excited to tell you i have been featured on the fabulous blog pennyweight today! elise was so kind to ask me to participate in her wanted this week series and i was completely thrilled! go see my current fall fashion wants here. have a lovely thursday!

s'mores cookies.

these cookies are quite the treat. when i saw them on picky palate i got really excited, i love s'mores. although i'm becoming more and more of a scratch cupcake girl, i do love a good easy cookie made with a cake mix.
ingredients:

1 box devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter {1 stick}
3 hershey's chocolate bars, cut into rectangles
1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cup graham crackers, cut up into small pieces

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350. in a large bowl mix the cake mix, eggs, brown sugar, and butter until combined.
2. with a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. press cookies into little discs to flatten slightly. on each cookie press a chocolate bar, a couple marshmallows and a couple graham cracker pieces. bake for 11-13 minutes or until cooked through.
3. remove and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. serve with milk and enjoy!

my cookies turned out a little bigger than planned, so next time i'm going to load them up with more marshmallows and graham crackers {the mallows are the best part!} these babies were a huge hit. you really must check out picky palate for more yummy recipes {thank you cousin katie for introducing me to it!}

also, i posted a yummy recipe over at just cook already that is a perfect end of summer meal. go take a looksie.

lucky you.

don't we all just love my blog header?! i know i do. ha! i've talked about it before here, but i just love jenna and her blog designs. and guess what! she is giving away a custom blog header over on her blog q.a. design. isn't that fabulous!

head on over to her blog and enter! i just love giveaways.

restless.

{image found here}

don't you hate it when you can't fall asleep because your brain won't turn off?! it used to happen to me all the time during nursing school because i couldn't stop worrying about all the things i needed to get done. well, for the first time in a while my mind just wouldn't stop last night and after trying to count myself to sleep and tell myself i wasn't that hungry {i was starving}, i just got up.

i have been wanting to go through my closet for a few weeks now to organize and take some items over to plato's closet to make a few bucks but every day i kept finding better things to do. well, last night after getting up for graham crackers and milk i started going through my closet. i decided to part with some real beauties but i just have to accept that i won't wear them this fall. my philosophy is if i didn't wear it last year i'm not going to wear it this year - time to say bye bye. so here i am, sleepy as can be from being up so late going through my closet...but hey, at least i got something done!

isn't the closet pictured amazing! i would kill to have such an organized closet full of colorful, unique pieces. some day, some day.

i love treats.

{weheartit}

well, it's monday again. i'm okay with it because all my days are pretty much the same, but i sure do love the weekends. on friday night i worked and afterward came home and was tucked in my bed doing a little reading when i heard our door open. i quietly said "hellooooo?" and my husband came running into our bedroom. he surprised me and came home early! he wasn't supposed to be home until sunday evening. that little sucker sure knows how to make me happy. we stayed up way too late so our saturday was pretty relaxing. it was full of yoga, lunch + gelato with my lovely cousin {dallas let's go back for birthday cake gelato asap, so yummy}, naps, reading, and kraft mac and cheese for dinner. oh, and no bake cookies. i saw them on a new favorite recipe blog - the girl who ate everything - and i had to make them for a late night treat. yum.

how was your weekend?!

thank you!

thank you all for the congratulations on my new job! i start mid september and can't wait! last night my mom and i ventured to the mall to buy a baby gift and i picked myself up this striped embellished t from the gap as a little "go me" gift. i haven't shopped in months and it felt sooo good. i am definitely one of those girls who gets a little high from a new purchase. can't wait to have a little more disposable income once i start working as a nurse...

happy friday!

just a little news...

i got a job!

and not just any job, the exact job i was hoping for on the children's surgical unit where i did my capstone this summer! i can't tell you how happy/relieved/excited i feel! i feel so proud that all my hard work as a student paid off. nursing jobs are hard to come by for us new grads and i feel so blessed to have one. hip hip hooray!! i can't wait to start!

my new favorite cupcake.

last week i ventured to make vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting and boy oh boy were they delicious. i'm very much a chocolate girl, but ever since my cousin and i had cupcakes at the sweet tooth fairy a few months back, i've been having major cravings for vanilla vanilla vanilla.

and guess what! this recipe is low fat and you can't even tell. buttermilk is simply amazing. i didn't use the low fat frosting recipe due to a lack of cream cheese, but they were fabulous with my classic buttercream frosting. get the cupcake recipe here and my frosting recipe here. i'm convinced, cupcakes from scratch are just the best. enjoy!

giveaway.

stacey is doing a fabulous giveaway on her blog love and photographs and i just had to share it with you! you get to pick any item from the lovely etsy shop 28th street photo & gift! all the items are beautiful, go check it out!

lazy day.

{weheartit}

today has been a lazy lazy day. the hubs and i have spent the morning brunching on eggs, smoothies and toast while watching season one of dexter. so addicting. my hubs doesn't believe i really like it, but i do! it might be a little scary for me to watch alone...but i'm happy to watch while he's by my side. he's off on another business trip this week {just found out}...such a bummer. but we've got a little getaway to our cabin planned when he gets home so i'm excited to have him all to myself for a few days.

i am particularly happy today because there may be good news of a job very very soon! i am so thrilled! but it isn't completely for sure yet, so keep your fingers crossed for me...

home at last.

bday love.

the hubs is home! it was a looooong week without him. to you ladies who have husbands that travel a lot, i don't know how you do it. it was rough.

we have a lunch date planned and i can't wait. happy monday!

friday!

happy friday everyone! i have officially completed my first week free of school, and it's been very relaxing...and boring. this week has proved to me that i need to stay busy. not as crazy busy as nursing school made me, but a healthy amount of busy. i'm getting very antsy to find out if a job will be available for me to interview for at the children's hospital {the dang economy is messing everything up!} and to take my license exam. the university is taking their sweet sweet time posting my grades/degree. i guess i should be grateful for the time off right?!

don't these cookies look delicious! i made them for some of my nursing school friends as a little goodbye gift and they turned out just lovely. i think i'll make some again this weekend to take visiting teaching. nothing like a little treat to brighten someone's day. i posted the recipe over at just cook already, go take a looksie.

this morning i did the best workout with my mom. it's called the tracy anderson method mat workout and it is killer. i've been pretty lazy with my workouts this summer so it kicked my butt, but i'm determined to get it down. isaac is out of town working and i've been struggling with some major migraines so i've stayed at my parent's house the past few nights. it's just like old times, home with my siblings all day. as much as i love hanging with them, i miss my husband like crazy. i love our little life together and can't wait for him to get his butt home!

have a fabulous weekend!

my quilt.

the highlight of my surprise graduation party = this gift. here's the story. last year my aunts threw me the most wonderful bridal shower and my aunt sent everyone a quilt square and asked them to create it with me in mind. it then would be made into a quilt, i was so excited! my aunts/cousins/mom/sister/grandma/mother & sister-in-law all made me the loveliest quilt squares. after my wedding they were sitting in a box, waiting to be made into a quilt for over a year. for my graduation, my sweet husband decided he would have it made. with the help of my fabulous mother-in-law and mom it was made. i was so surprised! isn't it beautiful?! it has so much love sewn into it. and the colors!! my favorite.

i love love love it.

hair hair everywhere.

hi friends. today i'm getting my hair done and i cannot wait. i have some serious roots going on and nothing makes me feel better than a cut and color. my hair needs it in a big bad way.

if only my hair stylist could take my hair from this...

...to this. i love amanda's hair so much. i drooled over it in dear john and kept telling isaac how much i loved it. i could probably get her look if i wanted to spend hours on my hair each day, and let's be honest - that's not going to happen. the one good thing about my curly mess of a head is that it's easy easy easy to do {this is me, looking on the bright side}. i hope you have a lovely wednesday!

sweet paisley.

i.love.this.look. someone please buy me every piece of this outfit - including the jewels. i have been so unfashionable this past year --- you have no idea how excited i am to get a real job {real as in nursing} and start loving clothes again {like i ever stopped...}. oh j crew, you da bomb.

surprise!

guess what! my sweet hubby threw me a surprise graduation party this weekend and it was so much fun! we were on our way to the red iguana for dinner and my mom called frantically saying we had to stop by the house to pick some stuff up. i was a little weirded out by her request but we made the stop anyway and boy oh boy was i surprised. we walked down to the basement and my best friends and family were all there! it was a fabulous surprise! i feel so loved, thank you everyone who came and helped make it happen. i got the most thoughtful gifts...i can't wait to show you! more pictures to come...

how was your weekend?!

goodbye college of nursing.

i can't believe i'm really done! these past 15 months have been so crazy, and i can't believe the time has come for me to move on to the next stage of my life. it's exciting but scary at the same time. the job market is so terrible right now, i am hoping and praying the children's hospital will be able to hire me. keep your fingers crossed!

the one and only hard part about school being over is the fact that i won't get to see my friends all the time! our group was really close and i made some fabulous friends. i decided we're going to start lots of clubs...book club, recipe club, lunch club...haha. doesn't that sound fun!

our rockin' group. i'm on the bottom right.

these girls got me through our clinical at the psych hospital. it was crazy and i'm so glad i had them by my side!

my second home. it's weird i won't be going there anymore.

okay okay, i'm done being nostalgic. the weekend is here! i'm not quite sure how the hubs and i are planning to celebrate, i'm sure a little date night is in store. all i know is i need me some mexican food, i've been craving it all week. and definitely some pool time, i've gotta take advantage of this last month of summer! i hope you have a lovely weekend!

i did it!

i am done with nursing school!!!

i can't tell you how happy/relieved/free i feel. 5 straight years of college and 2 degrees later and i am finally finally finished. i can't wait to start my career as a nurse. and to embrace my life again, free of school. hip hip hooray!

sinful sundae.

i made this delicious concoction for isaac's bday and let me tell you, it is a real treat. it's my version of outback steakhouse's sinful sundae.

here's the line-up:
brownie {i use this recipe}
vanilla bean ice cream
toasted coconut {roll the ice cream in it}
hot fudge {or chocolate ganache}
fresh strawberries
whipped cream {optional}

we love it. it definitely is sinful, but oh so worth it.

p.s. i'm taking my last finals ever today! wish me luck! tomorrow i'm a free woman.

glossy hobo.

i love this bag, it's so fabulous for the fall. and i love the gap. i don't think i've ever talked about my love for the gap on this blog, but it's my go-to store for jeans and basics. everything there fits me really well. they also get girly, unique pieces every once and a while and i love it. i worked there my first year of college and i literally came home with a purchase every single time i worked. good thing i don't work there anymore! hubs would not be happy. but guess what! my sweet mom works there now and again and is always finding me things for super fab deals. love you mom, now buy me this hobo...

ribs.

i have been wanted to make ribs all summer long. and these look so tasty. i've never made ribs before, but i think i can do it. cooking meat just makes me a little nervous. image and recipe via real simple. i organized my recipes on my computer recently and the folder with desserts 10x bigger than any other...no surprise there.

we saw inception this weekend and we loved it! i feel a little silly thinking it was going to be scary, i'm glad my husband convinced me to go so i wouldn't miss out. it was awesome!

hubs and i are going to try and eat healthier, step by step. i've gotten pretty lazy with watching what i eat due to school taking over my life, but now that i'm going to have more time on my hands i'm going to be more conscious of what i'm eating. i can no longer eat a handful of chocolate because i'm "stressed" every single day. ha!! i do love me some chocolate. i just know we'll feel so much better if we start making little changes. any advice?!