top five friday.

#1 - beach camping! our cute friends, devin and whitney invited us to go camping last weekend and goodness was it fun. we stayed up way later than we should have and ate way more junk food than was necessary, but that's what makes camping fun right?

i'm so glad these two will be living close to us when we move to cheyenne. i see a lot of dinner dates and shopping trips in our future.

we woke up and this was our view. it. was. awesome.

#2 - the barbie and ken wedding photoshoot. i saw this on pinterest and had to check it out. maybe i'm just weird, but i was dying laughing at some of the pictures. they are so spot on! need more motivation to look at it yourself? here's a sneak peek:

so funny to me.

#3 - celebrating pi{e} day. i know i did a whole post on this already, but it was one of my favorite things from the week. so i'm sharing it again. also, i feel kind of proud that i made a pumpkin pie. i know they're not that hard, but i've never done it before, so it was kind of an exciting moment in the averett household. they actually didn't turn out half bad!

so little and cute. i love it.

#4 - these shoes:

i'm a flats and flip flops kind of girl, through and through. the only time i wear lace up shoes is to go running {which turns out, that's not very often}. but after all the trips we've made and theme parks we've been to, i'm sick of wanting to chop my feet of when we're done because they're too tire from trying to hold my flip flops on or my heels are rubbed raw. it's time to invest in a pair of shoes that will make it possible to enjoy my days. and these are the ones i want. that's all.

#5 - and finally, what i love most about this week is the fact that right at this very moment, our family is on their way to come spend an entire week with us. i'm so excited i can hardly stand it! this is going to be the longest day ever. we're meeting them in LA tonight and i cannot wait!

happy friday folks!

have any fun plans for the weekend?

-sarah

oh how pinteresting: pie day.

happy pie day!!

don't know what that is?

i guess that's a good thing because it proves you're not a nerd.

or that you've never taken a math class {which might not be so good}.

growing up with a mother that was a math teacher and having taken a billion math classes myself, this has always been a somewhat entertaining day for me.

today is march 14 or 3/14.

pi = 3.14159265...blah blah blah. {commonly rounded to 3.14}

therefore 3/14 = pie day.

glad we got that settled.

here are my favorite pie picks on pinterest this week {try saying that ten times fast}:

it was a mistake to look at this before i went on my lunch break.

all i could think about was eating all things sugary.

not good for this girl.

doesn't it look incredible though?

 found here via lisa bozich

is it weird to think that pies are cute?

because these are most definitely cute.

what a genius idea!

can't wait to make these for thanksgiving this year.

found here via shelby lynn

i haven't made many pies, but the few that i've done have always been sealed off with just the pinch and squeeze method.

that takes enough coordination as it is.

i'm amazed at the talent of some people in making their pies look like this!

found here via leigh sondrup

not all pies are desserty ya know.

spaghetti pie was a favorite of zachary's growing up.

it reminds him of his mom.

all the more reason to eat it in our house. 

found here via leigh

pie pops.

what? 

whoever thought of this had a lot of time on their hands.

still awesome, nonetheless.
found here via cassidy perry

i'm craving a key lime pie.

but i'm so thirsty.

whatever shall i do?

problem solved: a key lime pie shake.
sounds tasty.

found here via michelle bazinet horgan

to top it all off, here's a fabulous dish to bake all of these wonderful pies in.

look at the ruffles on that thing.

love.

if i didn't think it was absurd to pay $40 for some bakingware, i'd go buy it today.

oh well.

found here via rachel russell 

any other pie day supporters out there?

-sarah

p.s. want to do your own 'oh how pinteresting wednesday' post?
link up with michelle here:

top five friday.

#1 - i know i already talked about it, but disneyland was definitely my favorite thing that happend this week.

there's nothing better than a visit to the happiest place on earth.

#2 - this song:

i'm addicted to it. it was on the radio to and from work yesterday and it made my day. wanna hear something even better? thanks to my friend nichole and her awesome finds on her blog, i just bought this song and the rest of its album for 25 cents. 25 cents! i spend that much on a gumball at the mall. i'm in lady antebellum heaven right now.

#3 - reaching goals. remember when i said that one of mine and zachary's new year's resolutions was to run a mile for every day of the year? well, i've been failing miserably. i haven't run seven miles in a week once yet. it adds up quick, so i'm behind by like a month. that was until yesterday. i have 7.24 miles completed for this week and it's only friday! i can't tell ya how good it feels to accomplish a goal that you've set for yourself.

#4 - colored jeans. i think this is one of my favorite fashion trends as of late, especially with spring right around the corner. nothing screams happiness like bright colors to me. that's why i picked me up a pair of these last weekend:

i haven't tried them out yet, but boy am i excited to!

#5 - cruise browsing. zachary has been dying to go on a cruise since the day i met him, so we're going to make it happen this year. we originally wanted to go to europe, but that's not going to happen for a few years now i think. then we wanted to go to the caribbean in may after he graduates from training, but i don't think that's going to happen either. so now, we are looking at august/september time. my question is, for those of you that have been on a cruise, do you prefer the bahamas or the cayman islands? i haven't been able to find a cruise that does both, but i've heard great things about each of them. right now we are looking at one that would go to key west, fl, grand cayman islands, and ocho rios, jamaica or one that would go to half moon cay, the bahamas, st. thomas, usvi, san juan, puerto rico, and grand turk. thoughts, opinions, suggestions, advice?

thank you for stopping by!

-sarah

oh how pinteresting: funnies.

there's nothing i love more than funny things on the internet.

here are a few that i've pinned recently:

only true star wars fans would appreciate this.
so funny.
found here via shann

zachary and i laughed for a good couple minutes after reading this.

it totally sounds just like it!

found here via niki hirning

i did a double take the first time i saw this.

i thought there's no way someone would really go to a work party naked.

then i realized exactly what i was looking at.
couldn't stop laughing.

found here via brittany mason

nuff said.

found here via hannah

i am guilty of so many of these.
especially the texting at a red light scenario.
i swear it's never green unless i'm texting!
found here

i don't normally like to draw attention to large people.

i think i would die if i saw my picture being made fun of around the internet.

but this was too good not to share.
looks just like him!

found here

this couldn't have been drawn any better.

what a hilarious misunderstanding.

found here via makamae

hope you take some time to laugh today.
happy wednesday!

-sarah

the big dl.

if you think zachary looks the least bit upset in this picture, it's probably because he is. this was taken right after we walked all the way to disneyland, only to find out that it was closed. yes, closed. i was shocked too. apparently, there was a suspicious package found near the entrance, so they called in the police department and bomb squad and wouldn't let anyone in the park. turns out it was some college student that was geocaching and hid a streamer in a pvc pipe. what a smart kid. only after we decided to drive home and were 20 minutes away did we see on twitter that they were letting people in again. we weren't going to let a beautiful day go to waste, so we turned right around. as inconvenient as it was, the whole fiasco actually worked to our advantage. it caused a lot of people to go home, so things weren't nearly as crowded as we were expecting.

the moment we walked in to the park i felt just like a child again. all i wanted to do was skip around all day long. i won't bore you with all the little details because i'm sure the majority of you have already been to disneyland {if you haven't, you need to reconsider what you are doing with your life} and know the joy that it creates in your soul, but i will leave you with a few pictures from our magical day:

 {thunder mountain railroad}

{i sure got a keeper}

 {some random goat on a barrel. we thought it was funny.}

{big star wars lover right here}

{getting ready to go on the star tours ride}

{i don't think i could finish this sucker, even if i wanted to.}

one of the best parts about the entire day was seeing this guy. {if nobody in this picture looks familiar to you, then you need to get with the times and start watching 'modern family'. funniest. show. ever.} we walked past him and zachary turned to me with his eyes real big and said, "that was dylan from 'modern family'!!" we then proceeded to chase him {he must have been walking really fast because we had a hard time catching up} and snapped this picture. he apologized for being in the way, but little did he know he was the reason we were taking the picture in the first place. we are kicking ourselves now for not just stopping him and getting in the picture too. it was still pretty dang sweet though.

it sure was one incredible day. i'm already gearing up to go again in two weeks! can't wait.

-sarah

top five friday.

#1 - exploring santa maria. every sunday, we like to go for a walk. but since it's been kind of cold this week, we decided to go for a drive instead. we thought we'd check out the little nooks and crannies of our lovely town and take a drive in the hills. we eventually found ourselves on a narrow road that was overgrown with weeds. we reached a gate and didn't see any 'no trespassing' signs, so we continued to proceed. we came upon what i think used to be a part of the base, but isn't in use anymore. all that was left was this:

can't you just picture a couple of zombies clawing their way out of that door? i was kind of expecting that to happen the entire time we were there. i was slightly terrified, but mostly thrilled. glad we made it out alive.

#2 - frozen tv dinners. i've always had it in my mind that only lazy people eat them and that they're a sorry excuse for real cooking. i'm here to say that i was oh so very wrong. i've tried time and time again to shed a couple extra pounds, but it's so stinkin' hard counting calories in homemade meals. after reading about the main keys to losing weight, i realized that frozen dinners are a lot more genius that i give them credit for. they help with portion control, they're super easy to count calories for, most of them have a good balance of protein and veggies, and they're surprisingly delicious. my favorite is the smart ones: chicken enchiladas suiza.

mmm, delicious!

#3 - blanket beds. since we made a goal not to watch tv this past week {mission accomplished}, both zachary and i have taken a serious liking to reading. a couple days ago, it was warming up a bit and we wanted to read outside. so we took every single blanket we had in our house and dumped them on the back patio.

it was a bit colder than i was expecting, so i had to bundle up a little. i ended up falling asleep while waiting for zachary to join me because it was just so dang comfortable. 

#4 - this video:

"shut up. sit down. i love you."

"fix yo' face." "you fix yo' hand and stop poppin' me"

"hair. face. hair. face."

it's just too good not to share. love it all.

#5 - and lastly, after saving every penny this last year {literally}, we can finally cross off something on our bucket list: save enough money in change to buy a ticket to disneyland.

that's $111.75 right there - enough money to buy a ticket and even some to spare. looks like this weekend is going to be spent at the happiest place on earth! maybe we'll catch a glimpse of the modern family cast while we're at it...

have a great weekend ya'll!

-sarah

good-bye abu's.

not very many things can get me out of bed in the morning.
i love sleep.
i don't know how zachary wakes up for work so early day after day.
every morning he comes in to give me the usual good-bye kiss and back tickle, while he's lucky if i even open my eyes as i mumble my 'have a good day' and 'i love you'.
today was different though.
i jumped out of bed in no time because i had to take this picture:

it's flight suit day ya'll!!
and dang is he good lookin' or what?
i'm so proud of this man.
he's got a lot on his plate and is learning so much, but he still makes time to be the wonderful husband that he is.
i couldn't ask for more.

-sarah

oh, how pinteresting: wish list.

we've all been there.

we sit on pinterest for hours, only to leave empty-handed.

i know the feeling well.

here are some things i would own if i could have anything on pinterest.

{besides the lovely houses, adorable children and trips to tropical paradises of course}

'hearts and daggers' by ed hardy.

i am obsessed with this perfume.

i have a hard time justifying buying it when i have enough perfume as it is.

i really just need to suck it up and take the plunge.

found here via angela craig miller

 'lucky us' keychain.

attached are pennies from significant years.

ie. the year you both were born, you met, you married, etc.

i think it's adorable and is a cute reminder of each other.

found here via kayla scott

a silhouette cameo.

i've lusted over die cut machines time and time again.

i don't have any real need for them.

i'm not running a business that requires perfect perfect edges and corners.

i don't even scrapbook.

but someday i'd like to own one and when i do, it'll be one of these babies.

found here via jennifer rahr

 this bed frame.

i've been married over a year now and still don't have a headboard on our bed.

old headboards make me swoon.

i adore them, but i don't know where to find them.

i love this headboard and frame though.

the cool thing about it is it's actually homemade.

zachary and i want to take a weekend sometime and whip out our mad

carpentry skills to make this.

my favorite part are the cubbies underneath.

found here via kylee labrum

this craft room.

yes, i want this exact one.

isn't it gorgeous?

i love the color scheme and the layout.

it would be impossible to have a creativity block in here.

found here via kimberly brown

 this crate vignette.

it's so simple and rustic.

all i need is to find some crates that are big enough to fit the bill.

it'd go perfect in my living room.

found here via vanessa murdoch

this sign.

zachary sings this song to me and it makes me happy.

we're going to sing it to our kids for as long as they live.

we most definitely need this in our house.

found here via terri bleam

this monogrammed ring.

it just belongs on my finger.

maybe for our next anniversary.

found here via now what baby

 this laundry rack.

it gets the job done, but isn't sitting annoyingly in your living room.

it's perfect!

found here via michelle averett

 lastly, this swimming suit.

with summer soon approaching and knowing that my old swimming suit

is so used that it's almost see through, i'm in the market to buy a new one.

i'll be honest, i thought this one was kind of weird at a first glance.

then it kind of grew on me and now i'm pretty sure i have to have it.

found here via allison wollenhaupt

there you have it.

my current wish list.

and on another note, my birthday is in 89 days.

wink wink.

-sarah

i believe...

...in singing in the shower.

...in saying "i love you" more often than necessary.

...you haven't really lived until you've been to disneyland.

...in having dinner at the table, not in front of the television.

...in sparkles. sparkly shirt, sparkly shoes, sparkly bag...it's all lovely.

...having your back tickled is the best way to be woken up.

...i feel far more comfortable around someone that talks too much than someone who doesn't talk at all.

...in blanket forts. my kids will learn at an early age, the best ways to make one.

...working full-time inevitably equals a messy house.

...respect is obtained faster when you learn to control your temper.

...this outfit needs to find its way into my closet:

...some people's brains fall out when they get behind the wheel.

...in camping in the backyard. i have fond memories of doing that with my little brother and sister.

...in making fancy dinners for no good reason.

...in being dip-kissed often.

...kettle corn and mozzarella cheese go together wonderfully.

...weekend getaways are good for the soul.

...it's never okay to be rude.

...i need an alaskan malamute someday.

...i'm going to freeze in cheyenne next winter.

...in putting people above objects.

what do you believe in?

-sarah

top five friday.

#1 - i'll just get this one out of the way...dry shampoo. i know, i know. i sound like a broken record after yesterday's post, but it really has changed my life. thank you all so much for your feedback! i'm going to have great hair in no time. my cousin also recommended the conair infiniti wand for curling my hair as well, so i went and bought it last night. it was right before bed, so i wasn't trying real hard to make the curls look nice or anything, but for not trying, it worked pretty dang good. i've been looking up reviews for it all day and everyone that's reviewed it has loved it! you should check it out. oh, and look at this video. she does a pretty good tutorial on it.

#2 - the weather here in sunny california. {i'm pretty sure i've said this on top 5 before, but oh well. get over it} i went to the 'the natural cafe' for lunch yesterday and there was a sign on the door telling people to keep it closed because the air conditioning was on. in february. i don't think i've ever had the air conditioning on in february. by the end of the day, my office warms up enough that i actually start to sweat. {that's really not saying much though because i sweat really easily. tmi? sorry.} my point is that it's sure warmed up here and i am loving it! thank you air force for sending us to such a wonderful place during the winter.

#3 - a few weeks ago, i was having a bit of a crisis in not having a good book to read. i got a lot of recommendations and have actually made a reading list out of them. thanks guys. the one i'm currently reading though is one that was suggested by my sister-in-law: the clockwork angel.

i haven't been able to put it down. i read it at work, i read it before bed, i read it as soon as i wake up. it's ridiculous. you'd think i'd be finished after all that reading. maybe i'm just slow. it's a good one though. i highly recommend it, so far.

#4 - zachary and i are trying something out this week. we had stake conference at church on sunday and our stake president gave an incredible talk. i was surprised with how forward he was with uncomfortable topics! it was awesome. anyway, he encouraged us to take the 'nothing' out of our lives and put in more of the things that really matter. ie. reading your scriptures, spending time together as a family, doing service for others, etc. zachary and i thought about what kind of 'nothings' take up a lot of our time and we determined that we sit in front of the t.v. way more than is necessary. we're both at work all day, so when we come home, all we want to do is plop ourselves down on the couch and unwind. it's not all bad really. it gives us some good cuddling time and we get some really good laughs from 'new girl' and 'modern family'. we decided to do an experiment though and try to go an entire week without watching an ounce of television. we started on tuesday and so far it hasn't been too bad. is it hard knowing there are new episodes of 'how i met your mother', 'the biggest loser', and 'suburgatory' sitting in my dvr? yes. but i can't begin to tell you how crazy it is to see how much more time i have to get things done. {in other words, the house is somewhat clean for once} i've been impressed by the results and if things keep going the way they are, this could be the beginning to an end of cable t.v. in the averett household. {ok, that was a lie. probably just a major cutback}

#5 - chicken tikka masala and naan.

guys...oh. my. heck. this is hands down, my favorite meal of all time. just talking about it makes me salivate. our friends introduced us to it a couple months ago and they so kindly gave us their favorite recipe last weekend. and because i love you all so much, i'm going to share it with you too!

the original recipe can be found at allrecipes.com. it was super heavy on the salt and we didn't use a barbecue, so i've kind of tailored this recipe to what we did:

ingredients:

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream

directions:

1. in a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. heat a large frying pan on medium heat.
3. pour the marinated chicken {marinade and all} in the frying pan and cook the chicken until no longer pink inside.
4. transfer chicken to a strainer and drain all marinade; set aside.
5. melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 3 teaspoons salt.
6. stir in tomato sauce and cream. simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
7. add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes.

now for the naan. naan is an indian flatbread and goes perfectly with chicken tikka masala. the recipe we used is from allrecipes.com as well. again, we didn't use a grill, so i've changed it to what we did:

ingredients:

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

directions:

1. in a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. punch down dough, and knead in garlic. pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. roll into balls, and place on a tray {i usually get 12-14 balls out of it}. cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. during the second rising, preheat griddle to medium high heat.
4. roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. lightly grease griddle. place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

you have got to try it. it's incredible. it takes some time though. not a lot of work, just time. so since tomorrow is saturday and you have the day off {unlike some of us. boo}, make this for dinner because i promise you will not regret it. welcome to heaven my friends.

what are you loving this week?

-sarah

hair.

confession: i don't know crap about how to do hair. seriously. i was the girl in high school that put her hair in a ponytail every single day. partly because of the fact that i looked like a drowned rat with it down {no volume, whatsoever} and partly because i just plain didn't know how to do it. then i discovered the concept of 'teasing' your hair. that works well, although zachary thinks i look like his second grade teacher every time i do it. but at least it's not flat and hideous! {i hope} the only down side to teasing is that anytime there is wind, my hair turns into one hopeless mess. kinda like this:

becky and i. sure miss that girl!

but usually much worse. what i wouldn't give for a head of nice, thick, beautiful hair that will style any way i want it to. or to be able to get out of the shower and let my hair dry on its own, only to have some rockin' beachy waves, hours later.

the good news is, that i recently discovered dry shampoo. a friend shared a blog about it {which you should read even if you don't care about dry shampoo. it's entertaining} a few months ago, but i didn't try it until last week. it's incredible. my hair is super fine and thin, so blow drying and straightening it every day takes a hard toll on it. now i've started showering the night before work, letting my hair dry while i sleep, then just using the dry shampoo to freshen it up. that way i don't have to worry about waking up early enough to shower, blow dry my hair, etc. i feel like my hair actually works better when i do it this way instead of styling it right off the blow dryer. after seeing success in this, it then got me wondering...are there any other tricks that i'm completely unaware of that you ladies use out there? what do you use to give your hair a little extra volume? any tips on getting perfect curls to stay in all day long? what kind of styling tools do you use and love? do you use a curling iron or a straightener to curl your hair? what kind of product do you use to protect your hair from the heat? and if you do use dry shampoo, what's your favorite brand? i'm not looking for something incredible that i've never heard of before. i'm just wondering what you do and hope to possibly get help on learning how to turn my hair into something worth looking at.

-sarah