Oh hey there Fall, nice to meet ya!

Everybody keeps asking me how I like Utah so far. My answer? I love it!!
The only thing is that I'm freezing cold already. Super excited for Winter.

I have never experienced Fall before! I'm use to the leaves just dying and falling off of the trees. The weather starts to calm down in November. And I wear boots and scarves just because they're cute.

Now I get to see the trees turn beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds before they fall and turn to brown. Now I understand the real beauty of boots and scarves. And fuzzy socks...because my feet have been getting soo cold!!

Fall has been going easy on us and it wasn't cooling down for the longest time. It doesn't matter so much for me because I'm inside all day wearing scrubs. But now it is starting to be so cold at home! So cold. Like 65 degrees cold in the middle of the day! I'm not completely use to wearing giant fuzzy socks, warm leggings, and sweatshirts inside. I guess that is something I'll have to get use to! (We have always refused to turn on the AC or heat. That might have to change.)

Wednesdays are my day off and I usually spend my morning running errands then come home and clean, do some laundry, and relax. Today was a bit more difficult. I just wanted to stay in bed all day! Not to mention we have been trying to work out every morning. As in 5:30 am. It has be so hard. So today we skipped the workout part and went with the warm cuddling option instead.

Anyways...after my chores today I decided to enjoy the wonderful Fall. I drove to a park close by our home and just walked around and enjoyed(?) the cool air and the beautiful trees. While wearing my scarf and boots.

So...yes, I do love it here! But it also hasn't been Winter quite yet. So I'll let you guys know when we get to that point.

But for now, I will enjoy this beautiful time of year!

xoxo

Simply Stephens

PS. Be sure to check back on Saturday. At work we are dressing up as Disney Villains and you do not want to miss out on my costume. It is going to be epic.

Recap of my Halloween filled weekend

My wonderful weekend was all about Halloween!

And it was awesome!

Friday

On Friday I planned on going to a haunted house with some of my friends from work. 

I don't always do well with scary things...

But I was so excited for this!

I got off work at about 4:30 and we were planning on meeting at 6.

That gave me just enough time to go home, shower, and greet my wonderful husband before ditching him for the night.

When I got to their apartment complex it took me like 10 minutes of wandering around and being a little prideful to find their apartment. 

I wanted to be able to find it myself without calling them. But that didn't work!

The apartment number they gave me did not even exist. Gotta love typos!

So finally after I humbled myself I called them, found them, and we were on our way!

We stopped at Red Robin (Yuummm) which is seriously yum.

(By the way, Josh didn't think that was as funny as I thought it was. But I wrote it anyways).

After eating our burgers, fries, and shakes we left on our way to the 

Castle of Chaos

There are 4 levels of scary for this haunted house. 

Level 1: I'm not exactly sure what this level is all about...

Level 2: the actors weren't allowed to touch us.

Level 3: The actors could touch and grab us, but not drag us.

Level 4: The actors could touch, grab, drag, put bags over our heads, separate us from our group, and move us to different rooms.

We thought we were all brave and were planning to just do level 2. 

Then last minute we changed our minds to do the level 3! 

Oh my gosh...I was so scared!

The 4 of us made a chain by linking arms and did not let go!

Things got pretty cray-cray in the Castle of Chaos.

Somehow amongst all of the freaking out and running...the bobby pin of the girl next to me ended up on the back of my head. 

I still don't know how it ended up there! 

And even though I practically peed my pants...

I survived.

Saturday

Sometimes I have to convince Josh to go on dates with me. 

But I'm okay with that. Because he always (usually) says yes!

This time I invited him to go to Gardner Village for Witches Night Out.

I am so glad we went!

First of all...I just love Gardner Village. There are so many adorable shops to look at.

And I never realized how girly the shops are until I had Josh there with me. 

In the past when I've gone it was always with my mother, aunts, and cousins.

Apparently Witches Night Out is the busiest night of the year! And I definitely saw why!

There were women and children everywhere dressed up as witches

with husbands and dads following behind.

Some of them got way into it with awesome costumes while others just wore a pointy hat.

I didn't dress up at all! Whoops.

It was just such a fun atmosphere with so many fun things going on around the village.

There were old ladies dancing to popular songs,

Face painting,

And sales in most of the shops!!

Of course I was drawn to the shop that was full of yarn of every color I could imagine!

I only let myself buy 1 thing though. And it only cost us $4.

It was so hard to hold back!

When we decided to head home we were starving! And what sounded good to us, you ask?

Oreo shakes.

So we made a stop at the grocery store on our way home to get the supplies.

The rest of the night was cuddling, Netflix, and Oreo shakes.

Such a fun date night!!

And I definitely recommend going to Witches Night Out next year. 

It was a blast!!

xoxo

Simply Stephens

Where did the weekend go?!

For reals.
Where did it go?

I'll admit this weekend wasn't the productive weekend I envisioned myself having every week. (Let's be honest...do we ever actually do everything on our to-do list?)
I was planning on vacuuming, organizing the kitchen, washing the bed sheets...and a whole lot more.
None of it got done!

Instead Josh and I got to sleep in! It was cool enough in the morning where we could just cuddle in bed with our comforter. Usually I hate my comforter in the mornings because I can't stay in bed and be comfy and am forced to get ready for work. So Saturday morning was wonderful! We finished watching an episode of Revenge that I fell asleep in the middle of the night before. Then we watched another episode...and another... We were on the last season of the show and we ended up finishing it all around noon!

Then we started a new show! The Blacklist. And it is so good! (Thank you Netflix!)

It was just the most perfect day ever!

Pajamas
Netflix
Comfy blankets
Sound of rain coming from outside
Crocheting
Cuddling
AND
It was the year mark from the day he proposed to me!

It was such a needed day. And the weekend wasn't over!

On Sunday we slept in then got ready for church after a quick breakfast. The gym floor of the church building had gotten resurfaced this past week...making the building full of strong fumes. Since we always get to church right as it is about to start, we had to sit in the overflow. AKA the gym. Where all of the fumes are. Yay. I made it though the first half of sacrament meeting just fine. But then the fumes started giving me the worst headache! So...we left early so I could sleep it off. And sleep it off, I did! I think I took a 2 hour nap. And it was awesome!

Finally 5:30 rolled around which meant family dinner! Oh how I love family dinner! My extended family does this twice a month. A bunch of us get together and eat delicious home made food. Which mean homemade rolls this week! Homemade rolls are such a weakness of mine..

Josh and I got home in our food comas and got to relax with each other for the rest of the evening! This weekend was the best! I am so grateful to be able to relax like I did these past couple of days.

Maybe instead of making a to-do list for this Saturday I'll cuddle and watch Netflix all day again. Don't judge me if I do!

xoxo

Simply Stephens

I know...I'm practically an old lady.

I get made fun of a lot for my love for crocheting.

My husband, my boss, my mom, my friends.

Everyone!

But you know what?

I love it.

It soothes me!

My love started when my wonderful friend Jordyn came over

so we could decorate some cakes together!

After we got over that...

we went on a trip to the craft store to buy what I needed to crochet my first blanket!

We got back to my home and she started teaching me right away!

And i fell in love!

It took me a while to finish because I would undo parts and redo parts

over and over and over. 

It had to be prefect!

Finally...I was finished!

I became obsessed!

I didn't know what to make next!

But I had a ton of random yarn laying around and I just got started...

Since then I have made like 50 thousand headbands/ear warmer things.

Okay fine.Not that many. But I have made a bunch!

It is so fun and easy!

 I bought a bunch of fall colored yarn and have gone crazy with it. So far I have only been making these two kinds. But I will definitely be learning how to make others! 

But for now...that is what I have

And...drum roll please...

I decided to open up an Etsy shop!

In the shop I have both of these posted with the different colors I have or can make them in for now!

The shop is called...

AudreyCrochets

So go on already! Head over to my shop and check it out!!

Link HERE

xoxo

Simply Stephens

Tuesday is movie day

For these past 3 weeks my wonderful brother invited 

Josh and I to $5 Tuesday with him and his friends.

Yes, you heard that right.

$5 Tuesday.

This might not sound crazy to everyone.

But I'm still use to San Diego's crazy prices of 

$12 movies!

Now you understand my excitement, right?

Also, I have the best job ever. They gave me 2 free movie tickets

just for offering to work a few hours on my day off.

I'm still convinced I work for the most awesome office and doctors ever.

So here is my take on the movies we have seen these past few weeks!

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Trailer HERE

I'm convinced that if you have not read the book, the movie is awesome! Just like the first movie in the series, there is action: running, fighting, death, and survival of the elements.

But, unlike the first movie: this does not follow the book. Like all movies that are made from books, the trailer says "Based on the best-selling novel." The only problem is...I don't think this was based off of the book at all! The couple of scenes that I do remember from the book at awesome! Just how I pictured them as I was reading!
Josh enjoyed the movie and so did some of Jake's friends! I just walked out of the theater so disappointed.
But like I said before, if you have not read the book-i think it would be worth your while to go see!

The Martian Trailer HERE
This was the best movie I have seen in a long time! Josh and I saw the trailer for this while we were waiting for The Scorch Trials to start. We just leaned over to each other, starred, and said "woah, that looks good!" And. It. Was. Seriously, everybody needs to see this. There is a bit a language that is unnecessary, but besides that I didn't see anything wrong with it. There was action, anticipation, humor, and it was in space! This is a movie I would totally go see again.

Everest Trailer HERE
This was the movie we saw last night. And it was awesome! This movie is based on a true story, which makes it even cooler, in my opinion.Walking into the theater we were all thinking that we would feel so motivated and want to climb Mt. Everest. We were wrong! This movie shows a team of climbers making their way up the mountain and the strain it puts on their minds and bodies. It's crazy! Most of the team makes it up but on their way down they get hit with n insane storm that causes a whole mess of problems. I always want a happy ending in moves an stories but when it is based off of a true story you know that is not always what you get. It was a happy ending for some of the climbers bu no for others. Even though I got a bit emotional at the end, I loved his movie and I recommend you going to see it!

So pretty much:

Tuesday movies are the best. 

And I fully recommend that you all take advantage of $5 Tuesdays. 

Because its awesome.

xoxo

Simply Stephens

Who could not be happy?

"With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?"

I think these wonderful words of Oscar Wilde could not be more true.

Sometimes I just like to step back

and remind myself how happy I am.

->I have the best husband in the world.

->I love everything about my job-I get to help people and get to know people every single day!

->I am finally learning how to cook without recipes (woo!!)

->Joshua James doesn't judge me for eating cookies before dinner.

->I am surrounded by beautiful mountains every day.

->I basically get to wear pajamas to work. (Thank you scrubs)

->My phone did not break when I dropped it in the toilet on Saturday!

->I'm convinced I have the coziest bed of all time. Especially when I'm trying to get up for work.

->I bought a candle that makes my home smell like Fall! (Thank you Target)

->The jar full of m&ms sitting on my coffee table right now.

And honestly, the list could go on and on and on.

There is so much to be happy about!

Sometimes we just let the negative side of us take over and make our days cloudy and gray.

So if I were to give any advice right now it would be:

Take a couple minutes out of the middle of your day and just think about the happy.

Find anything that makes you happy!

It is not as hard as we sometimes think it is.

I promise.

xoxo

Simply Stephens

Hello world of blogging!

Hello everyone!

So I have always loved the idea of starting a blog. And I attempted a few times. But I would always give up on it after like 2 posts. So we aren't going to let that happen this time!

I have always loved journaling.

And to me...my journals are art.

But let's be honest. Journals are hard. It takes so much time and effort to keep up an awesome journal.

Blogs are so much easier to add pictures to. And typing is so much faster.

No, I will not dump all of my secrets into this blog.

But I will update all of you lovely people with the happy moments of my life.

And maybe the not-so-happy moments.

(But let's hope there are more of the happy that of the sad!)

I love my wonderful marriage to the handsome Joshua James.

He is perfect for me in every way and life is so much more fun with him by my side.

I am still learning how to cook and how important it is to keep our little home clean.

But I like to think I am getting better each week.

I love baking. Especially cookies. And brownies. And pretty much anything sweet.

But especially cookies.

I like to think that I am crafty. I am working on actually being crafty.

My wonderful grandma taught me how to sew when I was young so I have made a few blankets.

While playing lacrosse in high school I would make bows for my team.

I recently started to do a little bit of embroidery.

And my wonderful friend taught me how to crochet. And I am obsessed.

So far I have crocheted a blanket that is oh-so-cozy. And I have made headbands to keep my ears warm in these cold Utah winters I have ahead of me.

So. Expect a little bit of everything on this blog...because I do not intend to post about the same things every week. I think we all would get bored of that!

Enjoy!

xoxo

Simply Stephens