new bff recipe

sorry haylie and eric..

but i found a new best friend

Mr. Crockpot!

when Eric and I first got married I was too nervous to use this thing. 

it just looked so big and confusing.

but finally the other day I pulled it out, blew off the dust and plugged it in!

Some girls from my work gave me advice for a super simple chicken recipe in the slow cooker

It turned out AMAZING and was the easiest thing to make!

Eric loved it and I am willing to share the secret with you.

(ok not really a secret, but here you go):

INGREDIENTS :

RICE (white or brown)

VEGETABLES (preference)

4 BONELESS CHICKEN BREAST

MANGO SALSA (from costco)

TORTILLA (wheat or flour)

SHREDDED LETTUCE

So I put the 4 frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker
and dumped 1/2 (half) the jar of mango salsa in with it

turned it on high

and left it for 4 hours

the chicken will get really tender and REALLY easy to shred

I shredded mine with a fork in the crockpot and mixed it around

then I steamed some rice and vegetables

shredded my lettuce (I used iceburg and romain)

and warmed up my tortillas

I put it all together like a cafe rio salad.

the rice, chicken and lettuce went on top of the tortilla

we didnt use any dressing because the mango salsa was enough flavor

(you can add black beans, onions, fresh cut tomatoes.. whatever you think will be good)

MMmmmmm...

hope you try this recipe soon! super simple but super delicious!!

thanks to my work ladies for this idea!

I am now going to the store to buy a crockpot recipe cookbook!

i love this thing!

R.I.P.

R.I.P.

fish #1 and fish #2

Eric and I bought 2 fish together a few months ago, because our new apartment wouldn't allow pets.

and if you know Eric and I, you know we are a sucker for ANY animal!

during our honeymoon we were freaking out because we forgot to tell someone to feed our fish

but luckily, my sweet mommy fed them and loved them while we were gone..

February 26, 2012 our fish of 3 months 

(that were supposed to live 6+ years..) 

died!

cause of death is unknown, but my suspicions are on Eric... the over feeder!

Eric thinks fish need 3 hearty meals a day, just like him.. how my poor husband is mistaken!

Eric seemed pretty upset when he walked into the room to his lifeless fish

even though we didnt care enough to name them... 

we just kept calling them "fish," so.. i guess that was their name?

the other day we saw our fish acting really slow and non-responsive,
 but we thought they were just sleeping

we sat by their tank for a few minutes talking about how cute they are when they sleep

and saying how we didn't know fish slept like that...

well to our surprise they were dead the next day!

im going to take a wild guess, but I don't think those fish were sleeping...

anyways, this is a tribute to our two fish 

were sorry we (Eric) fed you WAY too much!

we made it!

happy one month 

to us!

we made it everyone!
ONE WHOLE MONTH!!
and it was the best month of my life
wooooooo!!!
The day Eric and I became "official" last year January 17th, 2011

We went out for breakfast to Denny's at midnight

since then, every 17th day of the month

we celebrate with a yummy breakfast together!

Today was our one month anniversary of being married

so, of course, we had to celebrate with this gourmet meal!

(we even went to walmart late last night to get some peaches).
eric also surprised me with some of my favorite perfumes and lotions
for our anniversary... I guess my work is starting to make me permanently
smell like baby spit and dirty diapers!
thanks for the hint eric ;)

This month went by waaayyyy too fast!

we aren't even fully settled in our new apartment yet

but Im loving every second of being with my best friend!

I love getting tucked in at night,

waking up with breakfast in bed,

coming home from a long day at work and seeing his cute face,

listening to him tinker away on his guitar,

getting mad at him for eating our entire fridge in one day,

watching him try so hard to be a handy man around the house,

and i love love love referring to him as "My Husband!"

at first it felt weird saying my last name in church, "Sister Espinel"

but now im finally starting to respond when people call me that!

Eric was my first Valentines EVER!
and being married made it so much more special this year


i came home from work in the afternoon to this:

ummm... cutest husband ever?
the bathtub was full of bubbles and rose pedals
o ya... i was pampered big time!


and yes... it has only been 3 days since valentines day
and that costco bulk of chocolate covered raisins is half gone already..
ugh....

AT LAST!!

so I have been a wifey now for almost a month...

it the the most amazing thing ever being married to my best friend

we are constantly making eachother laugh and acting like 

little kids in our new home together

our wedding reception was the greatest night ever!
I am constantly saying to Eric how it couldnt have been more perfect!
During the reception Eric surprised me with a song he wrote for me
and sung it in front of everyone..
it was so stinkin' adorable of him!


Dancing was so much fun we didnt even want to leave,
we just wanted to dance the night away with everyone!


thank you to all my talented dance contestants.. :)
and I am proud to say that
UNCLE EDWIN
was the winner!!

Now to help all you

 little wedding planner ladies out there!

I planned my wedding in 2 months.. 

so its possible tohave a short engagement 

and still have your wedding turn out amazing!

(Possible... but still stressful!)

ENGAGEMENTS

My best friends mom, Vina English

so sweetly offered to take our wedding engagements

and I have gotten countless comments on them!

she did such an amazing job!

her photography site is:
vinaenglishphotography.com

go check her out! 

INVITATIONS

Having someone design your invitations cost a ton!
so I just designed these myself on Photoshop CS3

It took a little bit to get used to the program

But I was happy with how they turned out..

and it was FREE 

I also wanted a map to go in our invitations

but when I looked online, people charged over $150 to design them!

so I tried it myself... 

super easy and FREE

we printed our invites at AlphaGraphics in Draper

but Im sure there are other places that do just as good a job

for a fair price

DRESS 

the hardest part about wedding planning...

the dress!

I went to every place imaginable,

and found a lot of cute dresses... for a huge price.

And since Ive been dating Eric, I've learned how to bargain shop.

So I didn't settle with the first dress I liked, because 

it was WAY out of our price range.

other dresses would take over 4 months to get here..

I then tried on a gorgeous dress on Davids Bridal $99 rack

and loved it! but with all the alterations it would have

ended up costing us over $800.. WHAT? 

so much for $99 rack!

so I kept searching online..

and found a little place in American Fork called

Elizabeth Coopers Boutique

they said all their dresses are $450 and under

so I had to go check it out!

The "Boutique" was in a normal house in a normal neighborhood

so I was kind of hesitant when I walked in.

upstairs they had a large room with about 16 different styled dresses,

so it wasnt a large selection.

but the good thing about this place is that you customize ANY dress

to your size and style

The dress I found had weird lace and sheer cut-off sleeves

 but I LOVED everything else about it!

so I asked how much it would cost to switch out the fabric from the entire dress for a more detailed lace and make the sleeves 1/4 length..

they said, "it wont cost anything extra"

I was so shocked! I was completely altering 

this dress and it was still only $450!

So ordered it..

got it 3 weeks later..

and i ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!

and so did Eric :)

Before

After

www.elizabethcoopersboutique.com

MAKEUP

an amazingly talented girl did my wedding makeup!
It was exactly how I wanted it and looked completely natural!

lets just say Im so glad I didnt do my makeup myself...

look up Jessica Marie Dunn Craig on facebook :)
she's great with makeup!

HAIR

For my wedding I wanted something simple with my hair..

so my hair dresser, Jeanette, just did a simple fishtail braid

but it worked perfect with my dress.

Fishtails fall out easily so I'm lucky mine stayed strong throughout

our crazy dancing during the reception!

DECORATIONS


Pinterest..Pinterest..Pinterest..!!


and two letters.... D.I. 

PHOTOGRAPHER


Tracy did an awesome job with our pictures! 
she stuck it out with us the entire 6 hours 
and in the freezing cold!
Thank you Tracy!


tracyhillphotography.blogspot.com

and our photo contest winners are:
KYRA & HAYLIE

(i think we can all agree on this one!)
.......................................................................................


Thank you everyone for all the support and love 
and for all the help in making that night
the best and most memorable night of our lives!
we couldn't ask for better family and friends!