Graduation Celebrations

This weekend has been one of the best! I got to celebrate my graduation several times! Friday night I made plans to go and pick out jewelry for my graduation with a friend. I got some really cute pieces and after we were done shopping we decided to go to my place and watch a movie. So we get there and I open my door to a SURPRISE and a house full of decorations and friends! My sweet husband and friend had been planning a graduation party for about a month and I had NO clue! We had great food and played fun “hair games”.  The hubby also got me makeup from MAC, how great is he? LOVE HIM!

      

           

            

Saturday morning was my first free Saturday in a YEAR AND A HALF! So of course we slept in and had and amazing breakfast! My family came to town for my graduation so we spent the entire day shopping it was a blast to spend time with them. We then went to my graduation which was wonderful! It was great to remember all the fun times I've had and the great friendships I've made. After calling all of Provo/Orem restaurants for a reservation (everywhere was booked because there had been a BYU football and basketball game) finally we got one at Iggy’s and had a wonderful graduation dinner. 

                                            

The Emerald Ball

About a week ago Sam came home with an invitation for UVU's Homecoming dance. Our friends were going and they wanted us to come with. At first I was a little hesitant but after agreeing to go and actually going, I was glad we did. I got to get all dressed up and it was Sam's and I's first formal dance together! I wore a dress I made for my Jr. Homecoming dance but man have I grown! Haha! We had such a fun time dancing that it was totally worth it and we will probably go again! (Sorry about the blurry pictures, we were still trying to figure Sam's phone out!)

                                  

                                  

Justine and I getting ready

                                             Working the red carpet

                                      

                                      

                                           Handsome date and I

DIY Headboard

Awhile ago I saw a picture on Pinterest of a headboard that you could buy on Etsy. My immediate thoughts were, why buy it when you could make it so simply. Sure it would take time and work but if you're anything like me you don't mind it one little bit! 

I started by doing some measurement of my bed and figuring out how tall and long it would need to be. Then I sent Sam on an errand to Lowes to figure what sizes of boards we needed and how much they costed. After I figured that out I drew the dimensions on a paper of exactly what I wanted it to look like, how much wood I needed, and what I would need them cut at.

I spent two days cutting, sanding, staining, and finishing the wood. I didn't sand the wood perfectly because I wanted a rough look. I chose two different stains and just changed up how I applied them so I could get different looks on each piece of wood.
 

After all of the wood had set the required time placed them exactly how I wanted them and hammered them in place. For the life of me I COULD NOT find our hammer so I used our broken ice cream scoop. You can't get much more redneck than that!

 

All I had to do then was set it up in my bedroom and take pictures! I'm quite happy with the way it turned out and I've had a lot of fun doing it.

                                                        

100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup warm water

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine yeast, water and 1 tsp sugar. Let sit for five minutes.

2. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cups flour, salt and remaining sugar. Make a well in the center and add yeast mixture and olive oil.

3. Stir using the paddle attachment or a spoon until the dough just comes together, then knead, either by hand or in a stand mixer fixed with the dough hook, for about 5 minutes (3-4 minutes if using stand mixer). Add remaining flour in 1 tbsp increments just until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl or is no longer sticky.

4. Shape dough into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

5. Punch down risen dough, shape into a ball and place on a lightly floured pizza stone.
Roll out into a circle of desired crust thickness and let rest about 10 minutes (at this time you can put on your desired toppings).

6. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place pizza in oven and bake about 10-15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are baked. Let pizza rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.