Autumn Amelia

Hello everyone!

Since Erik and I both had a three day weekend for Memorial Day, we wanted to do something fun.

We decided to spend the night at a hotel in Downtown Salt Lake City.

Sunday afternoon we headed north and checked into our hotel.

We didn't have too much planned but to relax, watch some TV and enjoy a comfy bed.

After a few hours of TV bingeing, we decided to venture out for dinner.

We had been snacking quite a bit and were planning on snacking some more so, we wanted something that was fast, not too filling and cheap but wasn't just fast food. 

We landed on the Pie Hole!

The Pie Hole is a bold pizza parlor where you can get pizza by the slice. 

I had heard great things about it and was excited to finally try it out.

The specialty pizzas of the day were named after Pokemon.

Erik got the Dratini and I got the Gible.

They were both good and I would definitely go back for the price.

We enjoyed our slices outside on some benches and talked.

While talking we decided to cross something off my 26 for 26 list.

Watch my first R rated movie!

What better way to watch it then in a hotel on a king-sized bed?

After a bit of contemplating I decided Pulp Fiction would be a good first.

It's a classic that had always been on my radar, we could easily pull it up on Netflix, Erik had never seen it and it was on our 100 movies list.

Since the weather was nice we decided to walk around downtown for a little bit and enjoy the sites before heading back.

We did a little window shopping and I loved on all the dogs!

Then we started to head back to the hotel but decided to make one more stop...

At a movie theater to grab some popcorn to make my viewing that much better!

We got back to the hotel and changed into our comfy clothes and settled in for the movie.

During the movie, Erik kept telling me I picked a "hard R" for my first. 

I didn't think it was too bad but did have to cover my eyes during a few parts.

I do not do needles...
By the time the movie was over it was pretty late.
We got ready for bed and watched some more TV as we fell asleep.
I got such a good nights rest...
We enjoyed a complimentary breakfast the next morning and then it was time to go.
It was nice to get away and we got some much needed relaxing in.
It got me very excited for our future trips this year.
Do you have any upcoming trips planned?
Where to?

All my love,
Autumn

Hello everyone!

Since posing about Erik's graduation, I have had a few people ask about the candy lei's I made him.

I know that during the next few weeks there will be a lot of graduations so, I thought it would be the perfect time to share.

The best part is that they are fairly inexpensive and quick to make.

You will need:

Candy Bars, I used King-Sized

Plastic Wrap

Scissors

Curling Ribbon

Tape, Optional

Lay your candy bars vertically end to end in your desired pattern with an inch or two in between.

I am very much a go big or go home person so, I went with king-sized candy bars.

You can make your leis with any size you prefer. 

Fun size, regular, etc.

Roll out your plastic wrap along the length of the candy bars leaving a few extra inches of plastic wrap at either end.

Cut the plastic wrap.

Place your candy bars in the middle of the plastic wrap in the same pattern face down.
This will make the front of the candy bars show on the lei.

Fold both edges of the plastic wrap over the candy bars.

In between each candy bar tie a piece of ribbon to create a "pocket."

Do not tie a piece between the first and last candy bars and the open ends of the plastic wrap.

Repeat until you have completed this between each candy bar.

Twist the open ends of the plastic wrap and bring them together, overlapping one another.

I like to wrap a piece of tape around the two ends to help reinforce the weight of the king-sized candy bars.
This is optional and would most likely not be needed for smaller candy bars.

Tie a piece of curling ribbon over the overlapped ends. 

Curl your ribbon if desired.

I like to add one or two more pieces of ribbon in between the candy bars to get a fuller look. 

You could even use the graduate's school colors. 

Enjoy!

Erik has a major sweet tooth so I knew candy bar leis were the way to go for him. 

I think they are a fun way to present the graduate with an extra inexpensive gift. 

I love to see graduates with several different styles of leis at graduation. 

It's a big accomplishment that deserves to be celebrated. 

Are you celebrating a graduate this year?

Where are they graduating from?

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!

A few years ago my grandpa started a family traveling letter.

What is a family traveling letter, you might ask?

I'll tell you. 

But first, let's talk about the man who started it all. 

My grandpa 

He isn't like a regular grandpa.

He's a cool grandpa. 

He is very technologically savvy and even runs his own blog.

He uses his tech savviness for his favorite hobby Genealogy. 

He loves to figure out family history and keep track of ours currently.

Enter the family traveling letter.

He first sent the letter to my mom in June of 2015.

The instructions: write something, anything and pass it on to another family member. 

Once you receive the letter you choose someone else in the family to send it on to. 

Siblings, cousins, aunts, grandparents, etc.

Since its start, (almost four years ago!) it has been through so many hands and it is a lot of fun to read.

Erik just received it and decided to pass it on to me.

I feel like it is kind of a cop-out to send it to your wife but, I'll accept it. 😉

Erik's letter was very sweet and I wanted to share it here with you.

Not because I want to toot my own horn but, I want to show you a little more about our relationship from his point of view.

So, here it is:

While reading Grandpa Baldwin's letter, I was inspired to break the mold a little bit. According to the traveling letter rules, I can write about anything I want. So rather than write to Autumn, I've decided that I want to write a spotlight about her. As embarrassed as she will be it's my turn on the platform and this is what I want to do with it!
I met Autumn way back in the fifth grade. She had moved to my Elementary School, go Bobcats! At the time, I didn't really pay her much mind (or any girl for that matter, they had cooties). As we grew a little older and moved to Junior High she sat in front of me during Social Studies, and let's face it, I started to socially study her instead! Looking back the thing I most remember about her was her laugh. It was, and still is, one of the most beautiful sounds in the world. Well, time moved on like it does, and before I knew it, I was smitten. I knew that Autumn was something special and I didn't want to ever let her go. We grew together in a way that not many people can say they did.
I feel so blessed that I got to see her turn into the amazing woman that she is. Having shared about half of my life with her, I can now say with absolute certainty that she is the most selfless person in my life. Who among us can't think of an act of kindness that Autumn has done for us? How many brilliant parties has she helped plan, or incredibly thought out gifts has she given? How many times has she been the shoulder to cry on, the one to organize events, the emergency babysitter? The most amazing thing is that she does it happily without any expectation of anything in return. I get to see these things from behind the curtain and I believe that most people do not see the hours that go into these acts of kindness. Honestly, she doesn't care for the recognition for these acts, but I think that she deserves to know how much we all appreciate everything she does for us; I know I don't tell her enough!
She is also unbelievably strong. As most people know, for the first years of our married lives I went to work full time and went to classes at night. During these times she would take care of the house, prepare hot meals for me when I got home, take care of our sick dog, pick me up from the TRAX station whenever we were down to one car, and that is just the tip of the iceberg! Her ability to persevere through the many hardships that we have had is simply incredible. In her words, we just have to keep moving forward. She will forever be an inspiration for me to keep moving forward in this world, despite any obstacles that come our way. I know that she will forever be at my side helping me push through the struggles and be a crutch for me whenever I stumble. I would never have graduated without her constantly encouraging me to keep going. Her work ethic is unmatched, to the point where old bosses of hers are constantly trying to get her to come back to work for them. She has a work policy of doing things right the first time and then going beyond that.
If you aren't excited for holidays and parties now, just spend a week with Autumn. Before you know it, you will be making Punxsutawney pancakes for Groundhog Day. Suddenly a boring Thursday night becomes a Star Wars party for May the Fourth, or doughnuts will be warming in the oven for national doughnut day. Life is worth celebrating with her, and she makes it a life worth looking forward to. For each Valentine's Day, she has given me 14 days of it, featuring a unique pun and gift every day leading up to the holiday. She loves to have fun and it becomes so contagious that you cannot help but join in the celebrations.
She has a unique ability to make the world more beautiful wherever she goes. I don't know how she does it, but she has an eye for what things could become and then makes it. Her creativity has me constantly coming to her for advice on my own work and how I can make it better. I believe that all of us have enjoyed looking through her blog, or watching her videos and being able to see the world the way she does. She breathes life into our house and makes it a home worth coming home to. She has told me that she doesn't put anything in the world that she isn't proud of and I believe it. Everything she does is worth appreciating and admiring.
I will always look forward to sitting down to a meal with her, or going for a walk with her because I know that I get to discover a little more about her each time. She has the most intricate thoughts and opinions that I can't help but agree with. As time goes on, I feel an initmacy and connection to her grow. There isn't anyone quite like her, and I am the luckiest man in the world to have her all to myself. I am excited to see the future with her and what she is able to do with it because I know it will be great.

I feel so lucky to be married to Erik.

He is such a sweet, patient, hardworking man.

I am grateful for our relationship and all the time we have had together. 

My hope in sharing this is to encourage those who are still looking for their significant other to find someone like Erik.

Someone who you can have an equal, respectful and loving relationship with.

He is my rock and I am so grateful for him.
I am also so grateful for my grandpa and the time and effort he has put into documenting our lives.
I am grateful for the knowledge he has gathered and shared with us.
I think I inherited my love of documenting from him!
I am also grateful for the opportunity he has given us to share our thoughts and feelings with each other with this family traveling letter.


We are all so busy with our own lives, it's nice to take a moment to stop and put our thoughts into words and to have a physical copy to look back on for years to come.
What is something unique you and your family do?


All my love,
Autumn

Hello everyone!

Last Friday we had a little get together to celebrate Erik's graduation.

We invited a small group of friends and family to join us for dessert.

Today I am going to give you all the deets about the event because your girl loves a good party...

The Invitations

Erik is a simple man, so we went with simple invitations.

For the announcements, we did a black background with white font and on the reverse side a picture of Erik.

We took the picture of Erik in front of the brick on our house because I thought it would give that school vibe.

We ain't fancy...

We sent out announcements to all of Erik's family members and inserted a separate invitation to the Open House to our immediate family and friends.

The invitation was also a black background with white font. 

The Food

When we originally started planning this party we were bouncing around the idea of getting a food truck.

Further into planning, Erik asked if we could just do dessert.

Erik has a wicked sweet tooth...

Since this was his party I wanted it to be all about him so, dessert it was.

We went with his three favorites: root beer floats, cheesecake and donuts.


I wasn't sure how to serve root beer floats to a crowd...
I decided to fill a galvanized tub with ice and place mason jars full of vanilla ice cream in it.


For the cheesecake, we went with a variety of mini's: original, chocolate chip and strawberry.
I used three sizes of cake stands to display them.
I placed the largest in the back, the next largest to the side and the smallest in the front.
To make them fit in with the theme we inserted graduation cupcake toppers into a few.

We displayed the donuts on the donut wall I made last year.
We had a variety of flavors for people to choose from.
Glazed, chocolate and maple.

I decided to add in some cookies as well, just in case.
We placed the cookies in glass jars and had little chalkboards in front of them telling the guests which flavor they were.
We had chocolate chip, white chocolate macadamia nut and my grandma's famous sugar cookies which we added a few sprinkles to.

The Decor

I knew I wanted to keep it pretty simple for decorations as it was just an Open House.

The theme and color scheme picked themselves.

Theme: Graduation

Colors: Red, Black and White with a hint of Gold to match the University he graduated from. 

I thought that a few school elements would be a nice touch.
We had a globe, chalkboards, kraft paper and a letter board.
When you first entered the room, there was a decorated wall straight ahead of you.
Erik was going to stand there to welcome and direct the guests but it was a very casual event so he ended up walking around for most of the time.
It made for some cute pictures though!
I placed two gold fringe curtains on the wall and hung a balloon arch over it in the University's colors.

The Activities

The Favors

I love to plan and host events.

One of my dreams is to one day have a nice house, large enough to fit a group of people comfortably and to host events all the time.

Weekend brunches, summer barbecues, televised events.

You name it, we gonna host an event for it.

I want to create a safe place where people know they are always welcome and can come enjoy a good time.

Until then I will post our simple day to day celebrations here.

What is one of your dreams?

All my love,

Autumn