Christmas Decor

Not a lot going on around these parts, but I did enjoy an evening of decorating my house. Thanks to my dear mother who let me take boxes of her "filler" decor. The garland, pine cones, ornaments and other fillers are a must for great and complete decorating.

Santa seats atop of the bookcase

Table centerpiece...pear tablecloth is Christmasy?

It is hard to see, but that is a bowl of pine cones and snowflakes.
James Christensen Santa Claus art.

German cut-out Nativity

Coffee table centerpiece.
The reindeer is one of my sweet brass ornaments I got from my mom.
Other ornament shapes are teddy bears, toy soldiers, and toy train.

The sleigh is one of my favorite pieces.

Easy Christmas Wreath Craft

I love Thanksgiving weekend; nothing to do for 3 whole days (I mean besides cooking and eating turkey dinners).  Friday after all the crazy Black Friday shoppers had gone home, my mom and I ventured out to JoAnn's fabric store for a few items. I was in the mood to do a holiday wreath so after 30 minutes of debating on different styles and elements of the wreath I settled on a embellished yarn wreath.

The finished product

It was actually really easy. It took about 2.5 hours (most of that time was spent winding the yarn around the wreath and resting my cramping hand as my mom wrapped gifts and we watch criminal TV shows (a family fav). 

If you like my wreath and just came to look at it then you can stop reading here. If you would like to make your own then here is what you will need to get started.

• 1 styrofoam wreath any size you desire
• Yarn of your color, thickness and texture choose
• Embellishments (in my case, glittered snowflakes)
• Ribbon for hanging the wreath
• 1 straight pin
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Pencil and ruller
• And a place to display it for the world to see

Step 1: Use a pencil and ruler to mark several straight lines around the entire wreath. Because the wreath is a circle you will use these marks to make sure that your yarn continues to be straight around the entire wreath. 

Step 2: Add a dot of hot glue to the back of your wreath and glue the start of your yarn. You won't need the glue gun until the end when you cut the yarn and add the embellishments so you can turn the gun off until you get close to the end.

Step 3: String the wreath. This is the longest step. My wreath took about 2 hours to string. Your yarn will overlap on the inside circle of the wreath. This will help keep the yarn straight throughout the process. Use the pencil lines to make sure you are keeping things straight.

   Tip: Keep the yarn in a ball so you can easily pass the yarn in and around the wreath.

So close... taking a break to rest my hand.

Step 4: When you are finished covering the styrofoam wreath, turn on the glue gun and glue the end of the yarn to the back of the wreath. If you have any white from the styrofoam showing you can go back and add yarn to that area.

Step 5: Place your embellishments around the wreath in a pattern to your liking. Test the placement before gluing.

   Tip: Odd numbers are great when creating clusters.

Step 6: Use the ribbon to make a decorative holder for your wreath. The straight pin can be added to the back through the ribbon and into the styrofoam to hold the ribbon in place. this way you can easily remove the ribbon and use it for another project or gift wrapping later.

Me and my happy Christmas wreath,
or is it happy me and my Christmas wreath

Step 7: Display!

Hope you enjoyed this craft. If you didn't, it was probably because you read much further then I suggested you should.

Menu Planning: Three weeks and counting

When I was little I wanted to be a chef. But over the last few years I have become really lazy. I never cook or bake or grill. I wanted that to change. I wanted to cook and bake more. Not only because I love it or because it makes me feel like a real adult or the fact that it is a great "mommy skill", but because it is great for my pocket book and for my waistline. (Ok I am not really that concerned with my waistline, but I think it is important to be healthy.) So all around good things, right?!

As part of my goals this year I wanted to be better at making meal plans for my week and shop for only the things on my list. I am usually terrible at this because I eat out a lot and hardly go shopping and usually don't take a list. A few weeks ago I was out shopping with my mom and found cute menu planners at Anthropolgie. Maybe it is just because I love everything in that store or because it has a good simple cute design or because it is actually helpful, but I have actually planned out my meals with these little sheets of paper for the last 3 weeks. Look at me being healthy and all adult like. This also means I am learning new recipes for item 27 on my list (add tomato bisque to my list).
Check out these "What to Eat" notepads if you are like me and need a little extra (and cute to boot) help planning out your meals.

How I do it:

1. I review my week and mark days that I will be going out for dinner with friends or on a date and mark those immediately. 
2. I then review what I have in my cabinets and fridge to see if there is any food I need to eat before it spoils (usually not now that I am using this plan).
3. I try to pick a combination of new recipes and standard favorites. 
4. After filling in the menu I review the ingredients and use the back of the meal planner to write a grocery list. 

Don't forget to mark things for breakfast, lunch (usually my leftovers or easy stuff) and snacks.


If I can steal a Martha Stewart line, "It is a good thing."

Place of my birth (day 2)

Day 2 in Portland started with a beautiful walk down to the Williamette River and to the Portland Saturday Market. We ate fruit and got a breakfast crepe and walked around all the booths. I love craft markets. I bought a t-shirt, ring, purse and even some chocolate. Brian was a little bit better with his money, he didn't buy anything.
We also stopped by Voodoo Doughnuts. This place is doughnut heaven. Doughnut combinations only your 2nd grader mind could dream of, yet so delicious. We got the Voodoo Doll, Bacon Maple Bar (yes this one was mine), Mango Tango, and The Loop. Yummy.

We stood in line for 30 minutes for doughnuts...we are nuts

Sugar dreams

Famous pink box

Voodoo doll, stake included

Bacon love
 (yes I am the girl that like bacon chocolate too)

I think I made one like this when I was little

With our stomachs full of sugar we hopped into the car and headed to Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls. I loved it. The area is so beautiful. We hiked the mile and quarter to the top of the falls and explored a little more before we had to go to the airport. Next trip we will play in the Gorge area more.

Just in case you needed a count-down

Beautiful scenes

11 of 11 (sorry for scratches)

Place of my birth (day 1 - part 2)

Oops I forgot a crucial part of day one of our trip. See remember when I said I was born in Portland and we lived in Lake Oswego until I was four. Well, my sister and her crazy memory remembers the address of our house.  So what is a trip to the place of your birth if you don't go see your house.
Here she is folks....my house. I bet the neighbors thought it was weird I was standing in the street taking photos.

And I don't remember it at all. I have a picture of me in front of the garage, but for some reason I remember it being on the opposite side of the house. Does this mean I can't claim being from Oregon if I don't remember it?

Place of my birth (day 1)

A conversation about places we had never visited one night turned into booking plane tickets and a hotel the next. Brian and I jumped on a plane last Thursday and headed to Portland. Now I can't completely say I have never been to Portland. I was actually born in Portland. My family lived in Lake Oswego until I was 4 when we moved to Utah. So technically I have been to Portland, but just not when I could remember.
The trip started out great with a great flight. We got bumped to FIRST CLASS. I have never flown first class. There is so much room in those chairs.

Here we are enjoying first class

Our first order of business in Portland...food. Breakfast was Crunchy French Toast and Salomon Hash at Mother's Bistro & Bar. Oh My Goodness! I could live on this and nothing else for the rest of my life. After breakfast we walked over to the Portlandia statue. Don't get confused with the TV show. The Portlandia statue is a huge copper statue that crouches down from atop the Michael Graves Portland Building. It was actually very beautiful.

Hello pretty lady

I think she is asking for a bite of their sandwich

And of course after breakfast we had to go to Powell Book store. Where we bought a few books including a travel book so we plan more trips.

As we walked the streets we discovered a really interesting feature about Portland. There are little cities of food carts. They were every few blocks and there would be an entire block of cart vendors.

Early in the morning so they weren't open yet.

We ended our first day in Portland with walk through the International Rose Test Garden, which came highly recommended. Too bad there were only a few blooms.

Rose Garden

Smelling the only blooms

Views of Portland 

Tall walls of foliage

Brian checking out the rose facts

Oh and did I mention that Brian has friends in Portland. We went to this really cool restaurant in an old high school; McMenamins. Day 1 was perfect.

Half way to 29

It was my half birthday this week and I didn't even celebrate...sad. But I guess that means it is time for a half way to 29, update on my 28 list post. So here goes.

Rockin' 28

1. Build a bike
2. Repair and refinish wardrobe
   The first step has been completed. The wardrobe has been moved to my parent's garage and my carpenter brother has assessed the repairs needed. 
3. Visit Canada
4. Visit Glacier National Park
5. Visit Banff National Park
6. Compete in 2 triathlons
   Done and Done. Check out details the Salem Tri and Camp Yuba Tri. I still find it entertaining that I got the exact same time.
7. Compete in 2 bike races
   Couldn't have done this goal with my trust bike buddy Joni. We did the MS 150 in Logan and the ULCER in Lehi.
8. Grow a garden
   One of my favorite goals thus far. I am really enjoying gardening. Things I have learned. I do much better with plants that grow above ground. Water is key to a good garden. Tomato plants will get out of control a lot. Check out my progress...from killing spiders to planting to eating.
9. Enter my photography into a competition
10. Read all the conference talks for April & October
    I just finished reading all the April Conference talks in prep for October. I re-learned so many great things. Love the words of the apostles and prophets. You should read them.
11. Visit the temple twice a month
    I love to see the temple and I go there every month. It is a blessing to have so many temples close to me. It is sad how busy I make my life that it sometimes is hard to make it to the temple, but I am so grateful for my goals that help me keep motivated when life gets busy. The temple brings a lot of peace when I am so busy.
12. Visit 4 new temples (previously never been to)
    My friend Marne and I went to the Jordan River temple a couple different times. Other temples on my list include Logan, St George and Provo.
13. Start scholarship fund
14. Sew one article of clothing
15. Learn to use a map and compass (left over from 27)
16. Hike Lone PeakDone and never doing it again. 
17. Hike Mt. Nebo
18. Read one book on Geology
19. Post at least twice a month on this lovely blog
    What do you think?
20. Go on 2 backpacking trips
21. Share the gospel
    Not always successful, but I try
22. Design a calendar of family and friend's birthdays
23. Go to Spiral JettyI didn't actually get to see much of it, but I did go. That has to count for something.
24. Float in the Great Salt Lake
25. Take at least one class in a subject I am interested in
26. Create at least 12 week-long meal plans
27. Learn 12 new recipes
    Here are 2 recipes I have tried. I also made tomato pesto this week and found a recipe for Tomato Bacon Pasta (can you tell my garden was a tomato factory).
28. Finish typing "Helen's" (aka Grandma Berger) life story

Lone Peak I curse your name

To your left, Provo. And to your right, SLC.

We are going all the way up there.

Last week my friend Tom and I hiked Lone Peak or at least we tried too. It probably wasn't a good idea for me to attempt a 6 mile climb over 5500 elevation feet gain without hiking more than a handful of times since May. Lesson learned. This was a slow painful hike and finally around noon I said..."I'm good. I think this is close enough." Yes, I didn't get to summit, but I think I am ok with that. I don't ever want to do that hike again. But knowing me, I probably will because despite the pain, it is one of the most beautiful hikes. You have spectacular views of Provo and Salt Lake valleys almost the entire hike. Lone Peak I shake my fist at you. I may be back again.
Oh and check it off my list...boo yeah!

My friend Tom was awesome and hiked with me.
This is when he was happy and not in pain.

Did I not tell you the views were amazing.

Tom while in the middle of singing an Aladdin song.

Oops Tom lost his head exploring the cave of wonders (sticking with a theme here).

Lunch time (that is the end of my lunch not the beginning by the way).

Tom graciously loaned me his glasses for the entire hike

Views of the Provo mountains

Cool tree root.

Oh Yeah! I am on a log.

Hail the conquering hero!

Love the rock in the area.

Skinny trees

We had cell service most of the hike...crazy.