^^Notice: the $5 "wedding ring" from The Icing
 ^^My husband, the MODEL. (insert all the heart eyes)

watercoloring and framing (using a spray-painted frame from DI!) a little sign to complete our bedroom wall (thanks to the inspiration from Ashley !) (see picture above) // painting my nails the perfect fall shade // making ALL the hair bows and experimenting with my own patterns, maybe I'll post a tutorial if I can get good enough! // this year's "drive through the canyon" to take pictures with the fall leaves. It was AMAZING, perhaps the most beautiful yet (previous years: 2014, 2013). Plus, is there anything better than taking pics of & with that guy?? ^^ // making these cookies, eating some for breakfast, and not even feeling bad about it // doing a fall photoshoot with my friend Lauren and her cute family // the dreamiest baby shower for Baby Girl hosted by my friends Melissa and Chels (post coming soon!) // making serious progress on my t-shirt quilt (Aunt Lisa, you're a SAINT) // being able to see my friend Jess' NEW HOUSE // cuddling with Stephen and BabyGirl was kicking him in the bum hahhaha// reading through old blog posts and actually laughing because my life is hilarious (particularly here here and here <-- I'm blaming the pregnancy hormones but this one actually made me cry. Goodness I love that man of mine!) Sidenote: can you believe it's almost been a year since I cut 13 inches off my hair?! I can't!

Happy First Day of Fall! 
_ _ _ 
han.

This is the tutorial I used. 

You should absolutely read her tutorial because it has pictures and explanations and all the important stuff, but just to show how incredibly easy this was, I'm gonna give a quick run down of what I did:

Cut fabric around 5 inches wide, 17 inches long. (or longer)* (a rotery cutter would have been quicker and more accurate to use during this step, but all I had was scissors, so I just used the straight edge of a book and traced along it with a sharpie and then cut it.)

Fold in half.

Trace something round (I used the lid of a tupperware) on either end, then cut. 

Using a sewing machine, sew along the curved top and half way down the outside, then backstitch. (BY far the hardest part was trying to sew the round part with the machine. I have no clue how to do this haha, but even with my SERIOUSLY SAD attempt (in which I was constantly stopping and then readjusting the fabric) it worked okay in the end.)

Leave a little less than an inch gap, then sew the rest of the way down (backstitch again when starting and finishing to make sure it doesn't come undone.

Using the small gap in the seam, flip the fabric right-side-out. 

Tie it in a knot.

That's it! Notice: there isn't ANY ironing, or pinning. HUZZAH! You could go back by hand and close the small gap if you wanted, but it's barely noticeable so I probably won't. And, in honestly, I don't actually know if the ones I made will fit a baby's head, haha, but now that I know how easy it was I have every confidence that I will make more and experiment with different sizes. Also, just in case you were worried that Stephen had a polka-dot black shirt sitting around I'll let you in on a little secret:  I painted on the polka dots with some fabric paint I had on hand. HAHA. I'm sure if you look at the picture again you'll be able to tell because I was not particularly good at making them match, but I was still skeptical if what I was doing was even going to work, so I didn't spent too much time obsessing over it.

YOU CAN MAKE THESE HAIR BOWS. Seriously, call me if you want me to give you a pep talk :)
_ _ _
han.

^^made this cute gif of my parents at lake powell and 100% intended to put it in my lake powell post, and then I forgot! (#pregnancybrain?)

STEPHEN ACCEPTING A JOB OFFER (one that we are both really excited about! SLC we'll be headed your way come April graduation) // starting on a t-shirt quilt with the help of my very patient and helpful aunt (I literally don't have a clue what I'm doing.) // finally printing & hanging up some wedding pictures in our house (it only took two years..) // experimenting with recipes and having them actually work and taste delicious! (I made this fried rice, but used the sauce from this recipe. Success! I can guarantee that I'll be making it again.) // coming back from the mall JUST in time to see BYU's hail mary touchdown against Nebraska // getting a $5 ring from the icing to wear as a wedding ring since mine is currently a bit too snug (love wearing a ring again!) // face timing with my friend Bailee who moved to Texas // watching Stephen's first intramural game of the season (intramurals are so much more enjoyable to watch when the weather is nice!) // eating ALL the peaches because they were on super-sale at Lolo's

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han.

^^We were pretty proud of our finished work. We knew it was going to look different after being in the kiln, but when we went to pick it up a week later, it was QUITE different than we were expecting (read: ugly hahahaha).

^^Photo Challenge Day 4: Texture


I've been enjoying taking photos for my challenges, but one thing is for sure: I much prefer taking pictures of PEOPLE than still life. SO, any chance you want to help me!? Let me know if I can take pictures for you to help me finish up these challenges :) my schedule is very flexible! 

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han.

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han.

^^It was surprisingly difficult to take pictures while walking and drinking soda (shocking, I know) hence the blurry, super dark picture of Stephen above. He's just so stinkin' cute though I had to post it. 😊



_ _ _
han.

finding out that a baby GIRL will be joining our family this November // when my students begged me to participate in the 6th grade talent show (hahaha I said no, but I was flattered that they wanted me to so badly) // this smile drive website that our friend Tyler made (have you made someone smile today?? LOG IT!) // Stephen making banana bread // being able to accompany my friend Taelor on a bridal photoshoot she did a few weeks ago // HOKULIA // this song one of my friends helped make and is trying to get into the end credits of the final Hunger Games movie (I don't know if it will happen, but it's a pretty sweet song nonetheless) // being DONE with state testing (parties ALL day from here on out ;)) // the crazy sub my students had last week while I was doing reading testing (I like crazy subs because they make my students appreciate me more hahaha) // seeing pictures from my in-laws' trip to The Holy Land (I tried to contain my jealousy and just appreciate their experience...it almost worked) // getting Kneaders french toast for breakfast during teacher appreciation week // having a sleepover with my cousin, Madi, when our husbands were both out of town // thinking about how much fun I've had teaching 6th grade this year and all the memories I've made // my little brother Daniel getting home from his mission! // making strawberry freezer jam // when Alyssa came into my classroom this week and talked about The Philippines // this mother's day song that my friend Nate wrote that actually made me cry when I listened to it the first time HAHA (#pregnancy) 

Quote of the week: 
Alyssa: Does anyone know where The Philippines is? 
Student: I know! I'm pretty sure it's in Pennsylvania.


OHhh how I love and will miss my geographically-challenged 6th graders!
Han

STEPHEN BUYING ME A NEW CAMERA AS AN EARLY GRADUATION PRESENT!! and when I got to take pics with Had and the lighting was just so^^// when I had to teach my class how to fill out a bubble sheet because they had never seen or used one before  HAHA. // half-off sushi at Happy Sumo // enjoying said sushi with good friends // homemade sweet pork nachos // singing and dancing to newsies songs with my class and showing off the fact that I know almost every word to "Carrying the Banner" // buying plane tickets for my cousin's wedding in CA in may // teaching how to find the area of a trapezoid and actually understanding the formula for the first time in my life (because clearly that is oh-so-important and I've used it oh-so-many times in the "real world") // my cousin getting his mission call to Jakarta, Indonesia // when one of my students won a BIKE for submitting a drawing about eating breakfast // when 4 students went on a rant about how The Princess Bride is the best movie of all time // Miriam FINALLY deciding that she is COMING TO BYU in the fall!!! // when the weather was SO SO SO nice on Saturday that Stephen and I were those weird people who went over to the park to take a nap in the fresh air and sunshine // dressing up for EVERY spirit day last week in honor of Dr. Suess week (if you know me, you know I don't mess around with spirit days) // reading the book "Horton Hatches the Egg" to a class of third graders and having them ask me "are you an actor?" because I did the voices so well I'm sure ;) 

Quotes:
One of my friends is teaching her first grade class about plants and they were making a list of all the things that plants need to grow, so she was writing, "sunlight," "water," "dirt," etc on the board when one little boy shouts, "And they need FAITH too!!!"

Student 1: "Why don't you share a room with your brother?"
Student 2: "It's probably because we don't share a really strong bond." 

Student: "He was playing Churchball, which is basketball when you play with your ward." 


As is probably evident with the above list, school is pretty much consuming all my thoughts at the moment. It's a good thing I love it! I'm sure I say this all the time, but I honestly cannot believe how quickly this year is ending. And I still have so much I want to teach them!!!! Unfortunately, I still have ONE MORE assignment for BYU left and it is hanging over my head like the dark grey cloud of awfulness and gloom that it is. GAH. I just need to buckle down and do it and then SPRING BREAK!!! If I can just hold on until then, life will be a breeze. (Or at least that's what I tell myself. Every day.) But what am I doing here complaining in a HAPPY post?!?!?!?!? I apologize...I just want to be done already!!!!!


Who's with me? 

_ _ _
han.

PS sorry about the wacko font sizes. I messed up something with the coding when I was pretending like I knew what I was doing one day, and now my fonts are either wayyyy too big or wayyyy too small. I'm going with the "too big" option today just for fun.
PPS I would love nothing more than opportunities to procrastinate working on productive things  learn more about my new camera, so if you want to awkwardly pose for me while I take pictures I would love you forever!!!!

_ _ _ 
han.

Quotes from the week:

Talking about going to middle school next year,
Student: "Suddenly I wish I could go back to my childhood!"

Talking about hair,
Sophia: "I think if you had long hair it would be pretty."
HAHA.

During reading Bud Not Buddy with a small group at the back table.
Me: "In this section of the reading Bud wants to go to Chicago. Does anyone know what state Chicago is in?"
Student: "I'm pretty sure Chicago is in Nashville."
Me: "I hope you're joking."
(Unfortunately she wasn't.)


_ _ _
han

Disclaimer: This post is in celebration of our 1 year anniversary that took place almost one month ago. It will be mushy. Proceed as you will. :)