Portlandia

So a few weeks ago my parents threw me for a loop, when they showed up for a suprise visit! Although I was the only one that was actually suprised! They had told Hy a month before, and he kept it a secret the entire time! Sneaky boy.

* The two weekends before they came he had been overly gunghoe about getting our spring cleaning done. Now Im all for getting your spring clean on, but I was starting to get annoyed! Now I am super happy he did it!

Anyway! Hyrum had to go out of town for work so I spent the entire 4 days with them having a blast! We decided to head to portland and go on a food crawl! If you have never been on one and live near a big city, I highly suggest it!

We started off at my very favorite place to eat in the entire city... rice junkies!! Not only is the food always fantastic, but it's just a really great place to waste some time!




Plus the artwork is really fantastic!







I got the Yakisoba wrap (which is what I always get!) and it was so awesome.





Mom and Dad both loved it!




After Junkies, we rode on the max for a while, getting lost along the way (only briefly)

.

But we eventually ended up at Voodoo Donuts! We went and stood in line for an hour (Which is what you do when you go to Voodoo! You dont go in a hurry!)






If you visit Portland, it's almost written law!



Mom and Dad outside of Voodoo, with a secret!




Inside of Voodoo!











Eating the giant Voodoo with Mom-



Some of the Goods- We got a Portland Cream, a basic glazed, Mephis Mafia, and a bacon maple!



After Voodoo came Moonstruck Chocolates...



After the food crawl, we decided to go on the Sky Tram that goes over the whole city. Which maybe after all of that food crawling wasn't the greatest idea, but we did it anyway!







The views were amazing! It was so worth the $4 round trip price, and getting lost on the way there!









We did a lot of other fun stuff, tons in fact, but I am pooped just thinking about it!
I am so glad that they were able to come for my mom's birthday, and got to visit the place where I work.




They are back home now, and I am sure pooped!

I have a lot more to blog about, but who has time!! It will have to be another time. Have a good week!

Why Hyrum Loves Me...

Today is Sunday and the first day of my weekend! We had breakfast before we went to the grocery store at an insane time this morning (very obviously not my idea!)and by 10 am Hy was practically starved. So it was time to make dark chocolate and orange scones.

Man they were tasty. If I didn't share these with you, I would be a straight down sinner!

I found the original recipe on JoytheBaker.com and then I altered the recipe till perfect!


Most of the ingredients were standard things that I already had in my kitchen.




I started by scaling all of the dry ingredients into a metal bowl. Then I zested the orange into the bowl.



I cubed all of the butter and rubbed it into the dry until it looked like this:



(a coarse dry meal)

Mix all of the wet together and plop it into the center of the dry.




Using a wood spoon, I mix it until it is just starting to get combined.



At that point I add in some chocolate chips (I chose to do a combination of semi sweet and dark chocolate).



I mix it until it is almost together and then I turn it out onto my floured counter.





Work it by hand about 15 times, just enough to get it together with out over working the flour. Then I flatten it into a round.



I cut mine into six even pieces, but you could make yours however big you wanted.




I sprinkled crystallized sugar on top of mine to give it a little bit of crunch, but you could also use Cacao Nibs! They are pricey but so worth it if you are going for something different!



Anyway! Before baking and after!








Orange and Dark Chocolate Scones:

Dry:

1 1/2 Cup AP Flour
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tsp Orange Zest (I just zested an entire regular sized orange.)

Wet:

1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Buttermilk
1 Egg Yolk

1/4 Cup to 1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips (Whatever looks right!)



Seriously...Try this out. Its so simple and so good. In fact, I am off to bake another batch, because Hy wants to take some to work.

Have a good night!

Valentine's Day and a New Sort of Normal

H and I spent a fantastic Valentine's day weekend together, well for the most part. I'll start with the positive!




We spent a ton of time together and it was all fantastic! Sushi dates, shopping till we dropped, gift exchanging! The whole thing. My favorite part was the romantic gourmet dinner he made from scratch!

Just a few pictures!






Spending time with him is the best!




Date nights!




Even when he makes me pig face, haha.





* Our anniversary is coming up in the next month or so and I can't believe that it will already be 4 years! Doesn't that just make your brain explode?!

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Now onto the sad stuff. On the 13th, Hy's grandmother Lucille passed away. She had been in the hospital for a week or so, after an emergency surgery to fix her perforated bowel. Unfortunately she developed sepsis and lost all kidney function. After a few days of what looked like a recovery, she passed away peacefully in the night.



Do you find Hy's face in hers? I definitely do!

The funeral was so beautiful. 4,000 people came! No, seriously. 4,000 people! His family was so excited to see him, and it was really special that we could be there. H is doing pretty good and the support from my family and his has been amazing. We are pretty lucky.

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The trip down was enough to pull your hair out. What is usually a 16 hour drive, one way mind you, turned into a 20 hour poop shoot. A van on its side at 3 am, us calling 911, H helping the guy out of his side window; all awesome memories.




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random photos of our trip


Munching on sour gummy worms on the way to grandma's house! That face is a hoot!








H hanging on to Jess's dog/rat Princess Buttercup.




And finally, a long lost photo of me and my best girl Sarah! A photo that makes my grandmother stare at me like she has never seen my face before, because in it I look just like her mother!




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Little nephew Jrayden's grave photo was finally put in and it looks so great. It came out so beautiful! Im such a proud aunt.




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I have to post this picture! The first time that I showed it to Mr. Johnson, he laughed and said it was so cruel! It's cruel because I do it to him with my hands sometimes!