need something yummy to make for dinner?

try this delish baked potato soup - i recently posted the recipe on my recipe blog a few scrumptious things. or your could try jelissa's bbq chicken pizza...it looks amazing.

juuuuust a few ideas.

harrypotterparty.

i know i can't shut up about it but i have to say it one more time, i love harry potter. so imagine my delight when i got an invite in the mail from my dear friends kat and kalie {the most fabulous party planners in the world} for a hogwarts christmas dinner! and then kat asked me to make cupcakes {cauldron cakes} for the party...i was in heaven. cupcakes+hp+dinner party+bffs=fabulous. and it truly was perfect, complete with all the harry potter fixings - cauldron cakes, chocolate frogs, butter beer, pumpkin juice, wands, acid pops, and a delicious feast.

i loved it. and will try really hard to stop talking about harry. i promise.

thankgiving.

thanksgiving was lovely this year. my mom made the most delicious meal - i was so sad when i was full after like 5 minutes. and the see's chocolate turkeys were the perfect favor. i can't wait to munch mine. oh, and i made my very first pie. not bad, not bad at all.

after our fabulous meal we headed up to park city to meet isaac's family for our fun tradition of spending the night, eating yummy food and shop shop shopping {see my recap of last year here}. we went to the midnight madness at the outlets and scored big time. 50% of j. crew and banana republic! i was in heaven and got some amazing pieces for quite the steal.

dear thanksgiving,

you were quite the holiday this year. thank you.

love,

emma.

a little gift guide.

hooray for the day after thanksgiving! let the christmas shopping begin! {i'm almost done...feels so good} i loooove it when my favorite bloggers do gift guides and the other night while doing a little online shopping i thought "hey! i should do my own little gift guide!" and here you have it. some of my favorite picks for under $25!

1. old navy printed flannel lounge pants $15
2. the complete magnolia bakery cookbook $13
3. forever 21 sparkle nighttime clutch $8
4. frenchie dot tights $12
5. carole flower stud earrings $6
6. essie nail polish four-pack $20
7. old navy ruffled keyhole top $25
8. gap pom pom slippers $25

i may or may not be working on my favorites for under $50...it's a secret.

give thanks.

{image}

happy thanksgiving!!! i truly love this holiday. i myself have to work this morning, but will be off just in time to have a big dinner with my family and then head up to park city for the weekend. can't wait!

i have loved reading what everyone is thankful for recently, and now it's my turn to share a few things that make my life so so happy.

my isaac.
my family.
my job.
my sweet sweet friends.
my heavenly father and the wonderful gospel i belong to.

have a happy day!

half shifts blow chunks.

i worked my first shift alone yesterday - it was crazy. i worked a half shift {1 pm-7 pm} because i had my nurse residency class in the morning and you would think a half shift would be nice and easy. um, no. every time i work the last 6 hours of the day shift i want to scream and cry. it is always so crazy. i wish i could share with you the insanity that happened {i almost got punched...thank goodness for male coworkers} but something about patient confidentiality keeps ringing in the back of my mind. okay, i'm done complaining. i really do love my job.

today i'm planning on spend the entire day in, there is no way i'm facing the last minute thanksgiving shoppers/the icy icy cold snow. no way. two things i do not like. my plans include continuing my harry potter fest {i'm almost done with book 1}, baking some pumpkin snickerdoodles to take to work tomorrow {i'm working another half shift! at least it's the front half or i might cry}, baking a pecan pie for my lover boy/fam to enjoy on thanksgiving, and possible putting up my christmas decor - minus the tree. yay!

i love thanksgiving. the end.

minty goodness.

these cupcakes are seriously some of the best i've ever made. the frosting was sooo yummy. i love mint + chocolate. i ate the last one yesterday and i'm seriously contemplating making some for thanksgiving...who needs pumpkin pie when they can have mint chocolate cupcakes!! jk jk.

i haven't found the perfect scratch chocolate cake recipe yet, so i used a devil's food cake mix - the best cake mix in my opinion. and now i present my frosting recipe...

mint buttercream frosting

3/4 cup butter, softened
7-9 cups powdered sugar {depending on how sweet you like it}
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon mint extract
food coloring

in a large mixing bowl beat butter until smooth. gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. slowly beat in the 1/4 cup milk and the mint extract. gradually beat in the remaining powdered sugar. beat in enough additional milk to reach spreading/piping consistency. if desired, tint with food coloring. pipe or spread on cupcakes!

husband humor.

my hubs recently posted one of these videos on his blog and i can't get enough!! talking animals with british accents = my kind of funny.

little letter.

this weekend i reeeally got into the harry potter spirit, as you've seen from my previous post. i just love it!! isaac hated harry potter before he met me, thank goodness i've been able to convert him into a semi-harry fan.

dear isaac,

thank you for coming to see harry potter until 1 am on friday night and then leaving the byu football game early on saturday to attend a very lovely hogwarts dinner party with me. you are one awesome hubs.

love,

emma.

*more to come on the fabulous dinner party!!!*

snow pup.

we woke up to a winter wonderland this morning! i can't stop singing "it's beginning to look a lot like christmaaaaaas" and isaac is loving it. just loving it. good thing we bought cricket a puffy vest so she would be warm in this snow. such a little cutie.

i love me some harry.

we saw harry potter and the deathly hallows last night and i absolutely loved it. sooo so good. the movie inspired me to read the entire series again {i'm not going to admit how many times i've done this before...} starting today. i took a special trip over to my parents just to dig my beloved books out of their basement. my husband thinks i'm crazy, i think i'm cool. ha! have you seen the movie yet?!

tonight we're attending a harry potter dinner party and i'm making the most delicious cauldron cakes for the event! happy saturday!

crème brûlée.

i love crème brûlée. it is the queen of desserts, so creamy and delicious. and i'm not the only one who loves it, so does my isaac and my dad. so of course i had to make it for my dad's birthday yesterday, and boy oh boy was it yummy.

don't be intimidated by crème brûlée, this recipe is really easy!

ingredients:

4 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
8 large egg yolks
1/2 cup brown sugar, white sugar, or raw sugar {all work well}

directions:

in a medium saucepan, warm cream, vanilla and salt. in a large bowl, blend the 3/4 cup sugar and egg yolks. pour cream mixture into yolk mixture and mix well.

pour into ramekins and place in shallow pan with 1 inch of boiling water {my ramekins are really deep so i have to use more than 1 inch of water, just have the water come about halfway up your ramekin}. bake at 300 degrees for 40-45 minutes. let cool for 30 minutes and then chill for 2+ hours.

when ready to serve, sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of sugar over each custard. for best results, use a small, hand-held torch to melt sugar. if you don't have a torch, place under the broiler until sugar melts. re-chill custards for a few minutes before serving.

this recipe makes a lot of crème brûlée, so you may want to half it. when i half it i get enough for 6 deep ramekins.

enjoy!!!

birthday boy dad.

today is my dear dad's birthday!! i just love him so much and wouldn't be who i am today without him. now let's celebrate!

happy birthday dad!!!!

are you going?

i absolutely adore bijou market, as well as the lovely girls who put it together. my mom and i are making a day of it on friday - complete with a little lunch date. if you're in utah you really must make it a priority to go, all the vendors are fabulous. the bijou market blog gives you a little taste of each of their vendors, see it here. they are also having an amazing giveaway, ending tonight! enter here. see you there!

this made me laugh real hard.

thank you husband for sending it to me. i needed a good laugh. creepy? yes.

random thoughts.

this picture makes me laugh. taken here.

isaac is finally home from what seemed like a never ending business trip {6 days!} and i am one happy girl. on sunday night i had the most terrible nightmare and was so glad when i woke up wimpering that he was there to hold me close.

big news people. i am now totally on my own at work. i finished all my orientation shifts on sunday! i can't believe it. i'm excited but a little scared. i just keep telling myself "you can do it, you can do it" and it seems to work. my unit is so great because there is always someone around to help me if i need it. i love my job so much. last weekend i was able to really help some of my patients make big progress towards getting better and it made me feel so good. and one of them even brought me a chocolatey treat the next day! being a pediatric nurse is the best.

i just finished reading sarah's key and absolutely loved it. it is such a well written story. it is very sad, but you really must read it. now, what to read next?

christmas is in 40 days! i unfortunately have to work the night shift on both christmas eve and christmas, but i am excited nonetheless. we just have to get creative about when we'll be celebrating! and i can't wait to get decorating. i found the cutest wreath at target last week and can't wait to hang it up.

other things i'm excited for: thanksgiving and harry potter. yep, that's it.

one for me, one for you.

you guys, i am almost done with my christmas shopping! i know, i'm a freak. i just hate hate hate shopping with large crowds so you can imagine how anxious i get during the christmas rush. not fun. therefore, i shop good and early. i love taking my sweet time finding the perfect gifts. and the best deals! unfortunately...i have this little problem where when i shop i end up buying myself little presents as well. the whole "one for me, one for you" thing. my husband totally makes fun of me for this...i'm working on it. i've actually done a pretty good job this year! but...i did find this sweater at old navy and had to have it. i had a great friends and family discount and simply could not pass it up. doesn't it look cozy?

am i the only person who buys herself gifts while christmas shopping?

christmas toms.

dear isaac,

these are the sparkly toms i want for christmas.

available only at nordstrom. size 8. you da bomb.

love, emma.

kate nashers.

last weekend the hubs and i went to see kate nash in concert. we both really like her, buuuuuuut the concert left something to be desired. bummer huh. her band totally overpowered her and we could barely hear her. very disappointing. good thing her keyboard and skelly dress were fabulous!!!

i love this song, but concert version was no bueno. no bueno at all. and the cats in this vid are so creepster!! just you watch and see.

classy classy gals.

last night my dad and i were looking at old photos and came across this beauty. such a classic mother baby shot. i can't wait to recreate it one day. ha! love it.

cupcakes for baby dexter.

this weekend one of my very best friends came home to utah visit me {ha! and her family...} and to bless her baby. she recently moved out of state so her husband could attend medical school and i have missed her dearly.

she asked me to bring a sweet treat for the luncheon afterward and of course i made cupcakes. i've never done white before and i figured this was the perfect occasion, even if they do look a little wedding-ish...

i just love them and can't wait to see them later this week...and cry when they go back home.

pizza party.

isaac and i had a busy weekend so on saturday night we decided to stay in and have ourselves a little pizza party. isaac made us quite the homemade pizza, it was so tasty. we watched movies, ate ben & jerry's and even had a sleepover! one of the best parts of marriage - sleepovers every night. yes yes yes. how was your weekend?

souper sunday.

i love soup. and this zuppa toscana {olive garden style} is delicious. i recently posted the recipe over on my other blog --- a few scrumptious things. go, save the recipe, make it, and eat eat eat it up. you won't be sorry.

last bit about halloweiners.

our halloween celebration took place on sunday night with a little party my mom and i put together. unfortunately i didn't get pictures of all the delicious food, just the treats. guess we know where my priorities are...

pumpkin cupcakes.

i dipped pretzels in caramel and chocolate for a little take home treat. always a hit.

we're pretty scary huh. we didn't dress up this year...i know, super lame. i have a feeling halloween is going to get a whole lot better once we have some babes.

last night i took down all my halloween decorations, kind of sad because i have nothing for thanksgiving! i may need to take a little trip to target or perhaps just put up my christmas stuff early...i like it.

have you seen it?

you guys - have you seen raising hope?! totally one of my new favorite shows. so so funny. here is the pilot episode, watch it here and now. then, head on over to hulu and catch up on the rest of the episodes they have posted.

you'll love it.

pumpkin snickerdoodles.

as part of my pumpkin filled weekend i made these pumpkin snickerdoodles from just cook already. they are amazing. and quite possibly my new favorite cookie. you must try them! they will spice up your november and make you extra happy. trust me.

purple puffer.

last week i got the j crew catalogue in the mail and nearly died. so many beautiful things that i want to ask for for christmas. {i better write a nice letter to santa!} one of them being this beautiful puffer jacket. when i showed it to isaac this is how our conversation went...

e: "ike look at this coat!"

i: "that's cool, but don't you have black one like that?"

e: "yes..........but i don't have purple and/or pink one."

boys just do not understand our need to have coat in multiple {every} color. i'm definitely going to keep my eye on it online, let's keep our fingers crossed it goes on sale!

november!

today is november! november!! i can't hardly believe it. the good thing is that i can finally start planning for christmas and won't feel like such a freak about it...anyway...

i had the entire weekend off and it was fabulous. after sleeping all day on friday {after working all night} i woke up and isaac took me out to the classic dinner and a movie. it was perfect. i even pulled out my boots! {shown in the above pic...so fancy}. pretty exciting people. saturday was full of shopping with my mom and making last minute plans for halloween. i baked/dipped a bazillion treats. last night we threw a delicious little halloween get together, i can't wait to tell you more about it. as of now i have to go get ready to participate in a simulation lab at work...i'm a little nervous because they'll be filming us and then we have to watch and debrief after. gah, i do not like to see myself on film. especially when i'm being placed in a {pretend} high pressure situation.

how was your weekend?!