witches night out.

last week, after our yummy dinner at parker's, my mom, sis and i headed over to my aunt's fabulous store belle book & candle for her annual witches night out celebration. she has the most fabulous, creepy halloween decor and it's always so fun to go each year and pick out a few new goodies to spook up our place.

if you're local you really must check out her store, it's filled with beauties all year long.

belle book & candle
6 south 100 west
american fork, ut 84003

you will love it.

wednesday thoughts.

first off, let me get this off my chest...i may or may not have eaten cheesecake for breakfast this morning. and i may or may not still be in bed. gotta love days off! i'm so lazy.

i've said it before and i'll say it again, i.love.target. and when i find beauties {like my shoes pictured above} i fall even more in love. i've been on a hunt for new black flats for quite some time now, and these babies fit the bill. find them here.

i'm going a little nurse crazy. during my 12 hour shifts i spend a good deal of time encouraging my little patients to eat and drink, to get up and go on walks, and to try to go to the bathroom. then when i get home after a very long day i find myself monitoring everything i eat and drink, how much i walk, and how much i go to the bathroom. totally totally nurse crazy.

i had my family over for a little dinner and fun the other night and made the most delicious steak tacos. i posted the recipe over on just cook already...go take a looksie, you'll love it.

alright, alright...i'm getting out of bed now. there are dishes to be done, laundry to be folded, a birthday gift to be wrapped, and a much need workout to be completed. oh and a redbox copy of the back-up plan to be watched...the hubs is away on business and i've got to get my dose of cheesy chick flicks in while he's gone!

happy birthday sistaaaaaa.

today my one and only sister jenna turns 21! isn't she fabulous. i am generally mildly jealous of her...her fashion sense is impeccable. happy bday jenna jo.

dream bedroom.

totally started drooling over this bedroom when i first saw it. the pillows! the desk! the drapes! all perfection. see more of this fabulous design here.

image via house of turquoise.

parker's.

last thursday my mom, sister and i got together for a girls night out. before attending the main event of our evening {more on that to come...} we had burgers and fries at parker's drive inn. my mom worked there as a teen and we've been enjoying it ever since. their old fashioned goodness is deeeelish.

spooky.

helloooo. how is everyone's weekend been so far? mine has been lovely, i've been busy organizing and getting ready for halloween {can you tell i'm excited...}, attending a witches night out where i ate lots of spooky treats, and taking frequent naps. i worked my second shift as a nurse on friday and i literally did not sit down for more than 5 minutes the entire shift. i am still so exhausted from that busy busy day! thank goodness for relaxing sundays, i don't know what i would do without them.

a happy list for the weekend.

just a few things that are sure to make me happy this weekend...

1. date nights with my lover man.

2. baking my first batch of pumpkin mini muffins this season.

3. my new favorite workout dvd - love love love it. so fun.

4. an autumn drive up the canyon to see the first leaves changing.

5. finding my halloween decorations - they're hidden in our garage...

weekends without school are wonderful, i really never knew the joy that could be had free of the stress of studying 7 days a week. it's pure magic. and there will be no more of these conversations...

i: "hey em, want to go to a ___________ {concert, party, movie, etc} tonight?"

e: "i can't...i have a huge __________ {test, project, presentation, etc} tomorrow!"

i: "booooooooooooooooo."

feels good.

popovers.

popovers have been a family favorite since i was a little girl. they are so delicious and easy and the perfect compliment to any meal...just ask isaac.

ingredients:

4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt

directions:

heat oven to 425 degrees. beat together eggs, flour and salt. put thumb size dabs of butter {yum} in each cup of a muffin pan. heat the pan in the oven until the butter is bubbly. beat in milk to the flour mixture {i just blend it all the ingredients my blender, so easy}. remove pan from oven. pour batter into cups, filling 2/3 full. bake 20 minutes, turn oven off and leave in oven 5 more minutes to prevent immediate collapse of popovers. makes 12 popovers.

we love these with raspberry jam. when i make them for me and the hubs i halve the recipe, it's perfect.

true love.

i snapped this pic the other night and can't get over it. love my hubs and little dog so much.

welcome welcome autumn.

{weheartit}

hooray for the first day of autumn! it is so fabulous here in utah and i can't wait for it to start cooling down so i can start bundling up. my absolute favorite thing about it getting cooler is going to hatch family chocolates for the most delicious hot chocolate in the world. literally.

the past few days i have been on such a high with passing the nclex and starting my new job. i am so happy. my first two days on the unit were great, everyone was so excited i got hired and so helpful when i had questions. it just feels right, and for that i am so grateful! today i have the day off, so i'm planning a little me time {glee and giving myself a mani/pedi}, cleaning my house {i've seriously been neglecting it due to the massive amounts of studying i was doing}, baking a fall treat of some sort, and putting up my fall/halloween decorations! ha, i hope it's not too early...

Well hellllooo.

So last night Emma told me that she didn't have a post lined up for today. She was pretty exhausted after her first 12 hour day of work (being a nurse and all) so I figured I could take care of this situation and knew exactly what I would post for her. Drunk Monkeys. Yup, liquored up monkeys, doesn't get funnier. So from me (Isaac) to everyone else. Enjoy.

the monday wants.

today i've got a bad case of the "wants." for example...

i reallyreallyreallyreally want this coat. like really bad. the color is perfect!

these sneakers are perfection. if j.crew had them in stock i would order them right this minute. i really hope they get more in. they belong on my feeties.

sunday brunch and some fabulous news!

happy sunday everyone! after attending a lovely day of church i came home and found out i passed the nclex {the devil test you have to take to become a registered nurse}. i am so so happy! we celebrated by eating way to many cinnamon streusel muffins and i am now laying down for a sunday nap. yessssss.

tgif.

{image}

don't these ice cream cookies look fabulous? i made a very simple version last summer, but i'm thinking i need to step it up with the different flavors and sprinkles! oh the sprinkles.

this week has been a stressful one here at the westwood home and we're so happy it's the weekend! i have a very big challenge to conquer today but come this evening i'll be free! it will be such a relief. we're planning on going out to celebrate, but part of me wants to have dinner at home and make yummy homemade macaroni and cheese. i've wanted to try this recipe for quite some time now, so we'll see if tonight is the night. i might just get the craving for some steak tacos from the red iguana...ha! after dinner we'll probably spend the night at the movies. can't wait.

guess what! i start my new job as a genuine nurse at the children's hospital on monday. i.am.so.excited. i bought pink scrubs and everything.

oooooh yes.

yesterday i got an email from my hubby with this video and a little message saying "lets go." heck yes lets go! he knows me so well. can't wait to see this movie...i think a date night is definitely in order.

blue and pink.

the cupcakes for my friend's baby shower turned out beautifully! with the help of jelissa we pulled out about 55 cupcakes in less than 2 hours. rachelle doesn't know what sex her baby is yet, so we made both pink and blue. i loved it. really really loved it.

after the cupcake baby fest we went out to celebrate malorie's birthday at california pizza kitchen. we ate yummy food and laughed our bums off, i love these girls.

our tree.

back when isaac first took me to his family cabin when we began dating, we found a tree to carve our initials into. i remember thinking, "wow, he must be pretty serious about me if he's willing to carve our initials permanently into a tree!" serious indeed. i love this tree, and i love coming to see it at least once each summer.

i'm hoping we'll be able to make it up to the cabin one more time this fall to see the leaves change color, it will be magical!

sunday funday.

this weekend was pretty mellow. we spent our time working {i am soooo ready to start my new job!}, studying, watching football games, and hanging with family. i made homemade oreos for our sunday dessert and i had a bunch of frosting left over so i spread it between 2 grahams. it took me right back to grade school, i loved it.

saturday special.

Mr. Mayer - The Heart of Life from Emma Westwood on Vimeo.

hooray for saturday! i have the whole day off - which is quite the treat because i always work saturdays. today i'm getting a bunch of things done around the house {while listening mr. mayer}, doing a little studying, and munching on cafe rio while watching the byu football game tonight with the hubs and fam. yes yes yes.

summer of goodness.

this summer was one of the busiest times of my life. finishing nursing school ate up the majority of my time but there is one thing i didn't let slack...my love for baking. we may not have gone on a fabulous vacation or spent the summer in the sun...but we sure did eat lots of yummy things. ha! so glad i at least made time to bake treats!

oh yes, it was a good summer. i am so excited for fall to come, it's one of my favorites. and i love the yummy food that comes with it - pumpkin everything, homemade chili + cornbread, hot chocolate, etc. it's going to be a lovely fall, i can feel it.

also, i recently created a recipe index and linked it on the sidebar of my blog so if you're looking for a past recipe check there.

happy weekend!

cupcakes and birthdays.

dear self,
wake up!!
love, emma.
this morning, after a nice workout and getting caught up on bachelor pad {so trashy yet so good}, i am seriously fighting the urge to go back to bed. i am so tired! but i need to prepare for the afternoon/night ahead of me. today i'm helping a friend make 60 cupcakes for a baby shower {i've never made 60 cupcakes at once before!} and after the shower we're going out to celebrate my sweetie girl malorie's birthday! can't wait. so self, wake up. there is fun to be had.

lc.

i'm not ashamed to admit i love lauren conrad. i loved her on the hills, wish i had her hair, and am recently loving her clothing line for kohl's. i personally am not a fan of kohl's but i'm willing to venture in for this boyfriend blazer. and someone please braid my hair like hers!

see more of her modeling her line here, and buy her clothes here.

restrepo.

last night isaac took me to see quite the film. at first i wasn't sure if i wanted to see it, but i'm very glad i did. it changed my perspective greatly and had me in tears multiple times. i am so grateful to those who serve our country and my simple self wishes there were no wars to be fought. the film is called restrepo and if you're local you can see it at broadway centre cinemas in downtown salt lake city.

what do you think?

johnny boy.

the john mayer concert was better than i ever expected. i.love.him. and the 6th row was amazing, i'm so glad my hubs dished out the extra dough for our sweet seats.

he put on such a good show and sang all my favorites. i've listened to his latest single - half of my heart - at least 100x times since the concert. i'm obsessed.

happy labor day! i'm making mintie brownies for a family bbq tonight...i'm drooling already.

happy list.

i have had a lot of free time since graduating and as excited as i am to start my new career, i must say i've been enjoying it. i finally got my test date to take my license exam, so the next 2 weeks will be filled with lots of studying! but i wanted to share some of the things i've been doing with my time that have kept me one happy girl...

1. lunch dates. my girlies and i went to the happy sumo and ate their delicious teriyaki beef bento boxes {pictured above} and had such a lovely time. i love going to lunch. and i love good deals - the happy sumo has the best vip club {we're talking buy one get one free} - join here. you won't be sorry.

2. exercising! i am finally back in a routine and i feel better than i have in a really long time. a little cardio, strength training, yoga and stretching has helped decrease my headaches and loosen my tight muscles so much. i carry so much tension in my shoulders and i'm always in so much pain. find my favorite yoga dvd here.

3. naps. i love taking little afternoon naps before i have to go to work in the evening.

4. reading. i recently read the secret life of ceecee wilkes {i really liked it!} and am currently reading mockingjay and eat pray love. i love escaping into a good book.

5. the hubs. he's been working like crazy, but the extra time we get together since i'm not busy with school anymore has been so much fun. last night we made blt's, cut up a pineapple and watched ourselves some dexter. love it.

ooooh the simple pleasures. i love how little things can make life so much better. tonight we're attending a dinner party and i can't wait, it is sure to be fabulous. happy weekend!

creamsicle cookies.

these cookies are my new favorite cookies. no joke. and you know i do a lot of baking, so that's saying a lot. remember that blog i told you about a while ago, the girl who ate everything? yep, found the recipe on her blog. it's fabulous. the orange zest and white chocolate are delicious together. i was planning on taking these cookies to some of my favorite friends and isaac told me it was a bad idea, we needed all the cookies to ourselves. and he was right. therefore, i can only make these cookies once in a while because my self control goes out the window when these little diddies are around. next time i promise to share with friends. on to the recipe...

ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup {2 sticks} butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons orange zest {2 oranges should do}
2 cups white chocolate chips

directions:

preheat oven to 375. in a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. in a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. gradually add flour mixture until combined. stir in orange zest and chips.

drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. do not flatten cookies - it will make them dry. bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. do not overcook! cookies will be plump. cool for several minutes on baking sheets before transferring to rack to cool completely.

yum. i know i'm always posting about my latest baked good - i promise i cook too. but let's be honest, baking beats cooking any day.

the wonder of the tin foil dinner.

when planning the menu for our trip to the cabin i just wanted simple, yummy meals. i kept thinking and thinking and finally tin foil dinners popped into my mind. best idea ever.

the process went a little something like this: i prepped and assembled the dinners, ike manned the fire and cooked like a pro, i passed the time reading my dear friend real simple magazine, and then bam - after 30 short minutes our delicious dinners were done. it was so easy - it will definitely be a cabin tradition from now on.