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.