paris, je t'aime.

i know i talk about paris too much, but i miss this city a lot.

"france is like a moody, maddening lover who inspires emotional highs and lows. one minute it fills you with a rush of passion, the next you're full of fury, itching to smack the mouth of some sneering shopkeeper or smug civil servant"
-- almost french (read it!)

when i was dating nate, we'd speak french a lot together. he would help me do my french homework when i was lost, and i would edit his papers. we had the system down!

i was really hoping i could take nate to paris and show him my favorite things after we graduate this summer, but instead we are saving our pennies for ridiculous chicago rent prices. someday!

we've got it good

after-school snacks

we have an impossibly big bag of chow mein noodles that i bought because i was craving asian chicken salad...so i made these yesterday - chocolate haystacks. they are a throwback to my childhood. sometimes my mom would have these waiting on the table when we got home from school. i seriously had the best mom. she made awesome after-school snacks.

eating these got me thinking back to some of my childhood memories...

i was sandwiched between two brothers. whenever i wanted to watch "my little pony" on the cartoon channel, "g.i. joe" or "smurfs" always won out.

play mobile. we loved it. i was always jealous of my cousin bridgette because she had the play mobile mansion.

my brothers called me jessticle. okay fine, they still do sometimes.

i h.a.t.e.d. wearing pants/leggings until 3rd grade. i cried when my mom made me take off the dress and wear leggings for PE day. i still prefer skirts over pants.

after 3rd grade, i thought it was cool to wear my older brother's old clothes. shirts with taz from looney tunes on them, black sweatpants, baggy jeans, and adidas sweatshirts.

i loved makeup...and i still do. i would secretly, or not so secretly, put on my mom's makeup. in 5th grade, i would sneak mascara in my backpack and put it on in the bathroom at school.

my mom permed my bangs when i was 6. just my bangs. with my waist-length stick straight hair. classic.

recently, we watched a home video of nate when he was 2. i hope we have chubby, happy, laughing little boys like him. and i plan to have excellent after-school snacks at our house.

more

i stole these pictures off belize's blog, but i had to post more of our great weekend (thanks belize!).

matt (my cousin) and nate were baptized together, and belize and i have spent the last four years figuring out life together. they are great friends to us, and i rigged it so we could all be related.

typical around here.

before we jumped in our skirts.

n & j

be mine valentine

these guys came into town this weekend!!!!! we had an awesome (but freezing) powder day at the canyons for valentine's day. our chef husbands made us a dinner of chicken with a rose grenadine sauce, apple almond salad, rice, and ginger poached pears for dessert. delicious! belize and i overheard this conversation in the kitchen:

nate: you know what the best part of cooking is?
matt: cutting?
nate: yeahhhhhh

of course. isn't that always the best part? 100% boy.

we kicked back and relaxed with a game of hearts (tradition) and a love movie.

i really love my valentine

deal or no deal

i thought i was getting the best deal on toilet paper. but did i even see the "one ply" on the package? nope.

awful. don't ever buy one ply toilet paper. we are stuck with twelve rolls...which can last awhile with only two in the house.

just buy the good stuff.

a weekend away

my dad turned the big 5-0 on saturday. so we celebrated!
he was surprised with a trip down to utah, a stay in park city, a ski day with family from seattle and utah, and a birthday party complete with gourmet chocolate cakes (to die for!).
it was a great weekend!

steph made a shirt for the occasion

about half of the ski crew

wednesday wednesday

my ear is on fire. i burned it with my curling iron this morning and forgot about it, until it started burning fifteen minutes later when i was at school. ouch!

re-registering your car every year is ridiculous and long.

i am in the mood for valentiney things. chocolate, red, decorations, love, flowers, chocolate...

nate has six tests from now until friday. he's been hanging out at the library.

i am itching to go to concord, massachusetts. what's there you say? everything. but mostly walden pond.

AND belize, who i love love love, is a crafty one. today is the grand opening of her etsy shop. she is a pro at cute headbands and handmade beauties. check it out!

this is one of my personal favorites...

basketball.snow.sunshine.feast.

on friday night, we headed to salt lake city to see the jazz vs. the oklahoma city thunder. really, the thunder are kind of "my" team since they used to be the seattle sonics. i won't even go into how bummed i was when they moved to oklahoma...

tip: go early to the game. we got up close and personal. we watched the warm up. i did not believe in going more than an hour early to a game. i now have a testimony. just do it. so cool!

we went with ladon, jamie, and their cute baby ally, who may be the youngest kevin durant fan i know.

and for the rest...

a great day of sunshine at the canyons on saturday, followed by a super bowl party feast with some of our friends on sunday...a seriously delicious feast!

and now, back to the grind of monday. happy february!