Homemade apple sauce

During conference sessions at the beginning of the month I was feeling ambitious and domesticated...

I decided to make apple sauce! 

I don't think I have ever made apple sauce before

and if i have it was when I was little and my mom did most of the work :)

This all came around because Brian's brother and sister-in-law brought us back a huge box of apple from their trip home to Washington at the end of September. 

Brian and I were both eating an apple a day and we just couldn't eat them fast enough! 

The apples were starting to get soft so I started being creative.

I made an apple pie and then I thought hmmmmm how about apple sauce! 

It was also convenient that my mom sent us with a bunch of freezer jam when we moved down and so we had a bunch of empty canning jars! 

here is how I made the apple sauce, if you were wondering :) 

 First you have to peel all the apples... Apparently some people leave the peel on and everything but that just wasn't for me :) It was very nice to have my apple peeler that I got from a shower! 

Next, put the apples in a pot with a cup or so of water and let them cook until they are soft (about 20 min.)

After that you put the apple and the water (which is not flavored apple juice :) ) in a blender and mush it up.

Last heat it back up and add cinnamon and sugar to taste. then put it in the jars and boil them in a pot for 30 min to seal the lids!

AND NOW WE HAVE APPLE SAUCE :)

pre-wedding festivities

Also known as a bridal shower!

I was blessed to have more then one thanks to all of the amazing people in my life!

 My first shower was put on by the ladies in my neighborhood! It was such a fun way to spend a night and I feel so blessed to have grown up with such amazing neighbors! it really is its own little family.

 Amanda was in town for the shower and it was so fun to have her there!

Rachel came up from Oregon for the weekend and her and Val and Cindy planned an amazing shower! Thank you so much guys! It was such a great night and it was fun to spend an evening together just like when we were little :) thanks for being such great friends! even though we don't see each other much I know we will be friends forever.

My second shower was put on by my best friend Heather's mom and my neighbor Lynne. It too was a fun evening and I couldn't have asked for more love and support then I was given by this group of amazing friends! Unfortunately we didn't get very many pictures! :( here are some of the ones we did get!

The cute table decor

well We did get a cute pic with me and my girlfriends that were there but not on my camera.... this picture however shows us cleaning up an accident by a little baby I was holding... nothing like getting you ready for marriage and starting a family by getting peed on by a baby :) totally wort it!

Thanks everyone who came to my bridal showers and for all the support we were given while getting ready to be married and since! 

Where to start???

I've been debating on whether or not to play the catch up game since it has been so long since I have blogged

And after many hours of contemplating I decided to! more for my self, but hopefully you will enjoy the posts too! 

Summer 2011:

My summer was spent planning Brian and my wedding on August 6! I definitely couldn't have done it with out my mom :) She is probably the most amazing person I know, most of my inspiration comes from her and I know our wedding wouldn't have been nearly as amazing without her help.... also... if you ask, she will deny it, its just the ay she is :) 

Brian spent his summer at home with his parents working for a farmer in the area bailing hay and doing other odd jobs. 

He also made spent many hours building us a kitchen table! how awesome is that!!!!

I'm not going to lie I was nervous at first but it turned out great! I didn't see it until after we were married so good thing  I love it :)

We were able to see each other a few times which was great! here are some fun things we did! 

We went to a mariners game

with my mom and dad :)

 I turned 23! AND it was my golden birthday! (I turned 23 on the 23rd :) heres my cake! it was a golden theme! Brian wasn't able to come for my birthday because it was on a thursday but I had some other visitors... Amanda and Diane! Thanks for coming guys! it meant a lot! amanda- i know i promised I wouldn't post this picture but I think it turned out really cute :) dont be mad at me haha

 Me and my Mom drove down to Utah at the beginning of July to pick up my wedding dress. We happened to leave on the 4th of July so i stopped at brains family reunion for the day and then we continued our trek down to Utah!

Each time Brian came over we put him to work :) We constantly had projects going on for the wedding and used all the help we could get :)

Brian also came into town the same weekend as my friend Ashley's wedding and we got to spend the evening with one of my best friends Lindsay and her husband Brian :)

Lunch date on Alki

We were able to meet up for a quick date on Lake Washington (Brian was in town for a family friends wedding) it was fun to just spend time together at one of our favorite places!


As you can see we had a fun time this summer and were able to see each other even though we were super busy!
Hope you had fun reliving the beginning of the summer with us