Easy Peasy Lemon (poppy)Seedy!

I just found the most delicious-est pancake recipe ever. I tried it out today and fell in love.

AND since lemons are 3 for $1 right now at our grocery store, I decided to make it into a mix and share it with the girls I go visiting teaching to!

Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes - Gift Mix

To make the mix, put the following ingredients in a sandwich-sized ziploc bag:

1 cup flour

2 Tb sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp poppy seeds

Put the bag of mix and one lemon in a brown paper bag. Fold down and tie with a cute ribbon, and attach this label:

(Click on the picture to download the full size image. It should be able to print out at 4x6 size)

Nothing says summer like the smell of freshly cut lemons! I topped my pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream-- holy cow. Yum. Another lady online said she did blueberry syrup, and another said just put powdered sugar and whipped cream on top. The possibilities here are endless!

Carved Pumpkin...Pie

So Zach and I worked most of Halloween weekend, so we made our pumpkin pie jack-o....face.... on Tuesday.

I told you it would be epic! I know his face isn't quite centered. But I was so excited to cut into him that I just dove in without really planning or spacing it out. =]

This is pumpkin carving at its finest: you can eat the guts with whipped cream!

Also, I don't think I ever posted this picture, did I? It's from earlier this month:


Brownies for the neighbors. She's my visiting teacher, and she was having a hard time. Also, I wanted to do a homemade Halloween food-pick. =]

Summer in limbo...

So, Zach let me drag him to a 1920's mystery dinner last month right before my birthday. It was a blast, and I finally got the picture they took of us there.

Turns out, I was the murderer, even though everyone suspected Zach! ha ha ha.

Well, anyway, here's an update on life so far.

• My grandmother died a week ago, and I'm having a little bit of trouble getting that to sink in. Luckily I was able to go down to the funeral and be with my family, which really helped. I really didn't want to leave home, because it was her house. It's strange, because that's the hardest part for the rest of my family, living with her memories. I think it's because I feel so far away from her memory while I'm in Rexburg.

• Our house is looking more and more like a real home! Thanks to my sister and brother-in-law, we have an actual bed with a box spring, headboard and everything! They also gave us a loveseat and counter-height chairs. I set up our black bookshelf in the hallway, and it makes the living room seem more cozy. Also, we found our mail keys, so I get to sift through junk mail addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Emmons. =]

• Zach has been amazing, getting up and working all day, even though he's still short on sleep from our 16 hr drive on Thursday. He's been taking a lot of time to be sweet to me, and take care of me emotionally. I am really blessed to have such a husband.

• Next week Zach's parents and little brother are coming to visit! They'll be here for a week, and the day they leave, my parents and little sisters are coming! So we'll have about 2 full weeks of family, which we're really looking forward to.

• I got to spend my product check at work today, and used it almost entirely on girly stuff. I got a $30 moisturizer, $15 mud masque, $15 concealer, and some pamper-worthy foot scrub. All for freeeeee! I'm planning on throwing a girls party for me and my mother-in-law, then again for my mom and sisters.

• I made Chocolate chip cookie bars for the first time in a while, and they were a huge hit with Zach. I splurged and used Guitard chocolate chips and white flour. Sooooo delicious.

Well, a truly epic thunderstorm is starting up, splattering me with rain through the screen. Zach and I were thinking about going to the caves with some friends, but maybe we'll have a quiet night at home watching the lightning. Hope you all have a great weekend!