Small Treasure Tuesdays

Michael and I are moving soon... We're pretty excitedWe'll be moving just a few blocks away from where we are now, into Michael's parents basement apartment. 
I'll put up pics soon.It's really cute!
There's only one bedroom instead of the two we have now, but it has a small room that comes off of it and the living room is about twice the size of the one we have now, which is awesome! The kitchen has more cupboards though it doesn't have a separate dining room which is totally fine because we can fit a table in the kitchen.
My treasure today is the new dining room table we got for our new place!The one we have now is too wide to fit comfortably in our kitchen so we got this new one from Ikea, and we are pretty excited about it :-)

It has drawers on both sides, and it fold up nice and small

 And you can lift up one side at a time, or both! It can seat up to 6 people.

What's your treasure today?

Small Treasure Tuesdays

You're probably staring at your computer screen in shock right now. I understand. You probably thought you'd never see this meme again!But I'm back... I'm trying to be :-)
I've missed blogging. I've missed reading your comments and commenting on your blogs.I've missed reading your Small Treasure posts.
That's the main reason I wanted to start blogging more frequently again, because I think it's so important to appreciate the little things. Having this meme makes me do it, and reading your posts brightens my day!
So here we are!
There aren't any rules with Small Treasure Tuesdays I just ask that you share your post here so we can all read itI hope that you'll link back here so other people can get involved (you can do that by including my button ;-)And please read (and if you feel so inclined, comment) on other posts to spread the love That's it! :-)

The treasure I'm sharing today is the newest addition to the Magistro family

Ashlyn Nicole Here she is with her proud Mamma and Pappa

 She is such a doll. We all love her already!

 Elisa (the mamma) is the first of Michael's sisters to have a baby, it's pretty exciting!

Look at all that hair! in these photos she's about 12 hours old.
She is 5 weeks old now! I haven't spent a lot of time with her yet, but I have been able to see her smile and hear her laugh :)
What's your treasure today?It can be as long or as short as you want; it can be anything!

Two Years is a Treasure

Guess what today (technically yesterday, August 21) is...Alright, alright I'll tell you!

 It's my two year anniversary!

He is my best friend 

 We have so much fun together 

 He pushes and helps me to follow my dreams, 

improve my talents and become the person I want to be

 I love that we can be goofy together 

 I love that we make each other laugh everyday 

  I love us.

These have been the best two years of my lifeHe is my favorite person and such a wonderful man. I'm looking forward to an eternity of adventures and happiness

Nuts About Berries is a Treasure

I love Zupas. It's one of my favorite places to eat lunch (or dinner!) They have awesome food, but my favorite thing to get is the Nuts About Berries salad. It is awesome.
Well, Michael and I went to a dinner party Saturday night, and we were asked to bring the salad. So, Michael had the great idea of making the Nuts About Berries.
I looked online, found this recipe, and it turned out great!I sweetened it with agave, and I used roasted walnuts because I wasn't able to find roasted almonds or roast my own. But it was still wonderful. Everyone seemed to like it.

Note: this is not a pic of my salad. I didn't remember to take a picture before it was too late
I'm starting to enjoy cooking more and more, which I know Michael is grateful for ;-)
What are some of your favorite recipes?
And as a side note: when you guys go to dinner parties, do you give the host/hostess a gift? And if so, what?

Costume Discounters is a Treasure

October is drawing ever closer which means that so is one of my favorite holidays... Halloween!

I just love dressing up, don't you? The only problem I tend to have with Halloween costumes is that they always feel rather awkward and feeble.  To me, Halloween costumes have always been something I would wear once, and then never again.
But, this year I've had the lucky opportunity of being contacted by the good people of Costume Discounters and so I know things will be different :-)
I had the chance to choose a costume to review, and let me tell you, it was a difficult decision.  There was so much to choose from!
At first I was a little worried I wouldn't find anything I liked, and I was kind of skeptical about finding something for a better price than what I usually pay for my costume needs. As soon as I got to their website, I recognized how absurd my uncertainty was. 
I was most pleasantly surprised!  From everything I looked at on their site (I looked at baby costumes, adult costumes, teen costumes, wigs and accessories) and as far as I can tell, their prices beat out everywhere else I've shopped.
Being 5ft tall I checked out their handy size charts to find out what size costume would work best, luckily for me I could shop in the teen costumes section! Don't worry, they have amazing costumes for all ages, I know because I looked around quite thoroughly ;-). 
Their site was very easy to navigate, they have great customer service, they really have great prices and because of how nicely organized it is I was able to look through a large variety of popular themes, characters and time periods quite easily. 
I was drawn to the Alice in Wonderland costumes, because I loved the colors and characters.   My favorite costume, and the one I was lucky enough to get, was the Mad Hatter Teen Costume! Isn't is awesome?! I have to say, it is even better in person. If that's possible.
The fabric is better than expected.  Out of every store purchased costume I've ever had, it is the most comfortable, and sturdy. I can move around without feeling like it will come apart at the seems! It fits really well, and I don't have of my usual issues with costumes such as it being uncomfortable, having flimsy fabric, a shotty sewing job, being a poor fit and an unimaginative design.
So, without further ado, here is how it turned out

It didn't come with the leggings, I just thought they looked cute with it.

Because I'm the Mad Hatter, I just had to do this makeshift photo shoot with a tea cup!

I love that the jacket has coattails! 

When I initially read the description, I figured that the shoe covers would probably be an aspect that I couldn't count on to work out, because I had never had shoe covers work very well in the past, however these ones are really nice! So far, they've been working quite well for me.

I love how this costume came with so many little details that made it all the better. 

The little glovelettes, the boot covers, the hat, the neckerchief... All of it just really makes the outfit!

 Also, I want to wear this skirt around as part of my everyday apparel ;-)

It's too cute.

I am loving all of the colors together!

This is the most comfortable Halloween costume from a store that I've ever had the pleasure of wearing! 

 Aren't the coattails awesome!

 I will definitely be wearing this costume as much as possible during this Halloween season, and in years to come.

And I will, without a doubt, purchase from Costume Discounters in the future.

Not only do I love this costume, as well as many others that I want to purchase, but their prices are simply unbeatable. AND they made me feel like I was an important customer whom they would be happy to assist with any questions or concerns.

So if you're looking for a great Halloween costume for an amazing price,check out Costume Discounters

 I received the Ma Hatter Teen Costume from Costume Discounters in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. This product review is based on my own personal experiences with this item, and it is completely honest and objective.

A break is a bitter-sweet treasure

Don't worry, I'm still here!

I took this quote from one of my friend's blogs
In case you haven't noticed, I've been taking a break from my blog to "go confidently in the direction of (my) dreams." I've been getting more organized, getting ready for some changes in my life, fighting the plagiarism accusations, doing things I've been putting off and getting refocused on what's most important in life.
I'll be back soon-ish. But know that I've missed you guys!I hope you've all been having a fantastic summer!
Until next time.ps. after a couple months of fighting it, I finally got a passing grade on my paper and in my class! :-D I'm super pleased. It just goes to show that when you fight for what is right, the road may be long and hard, but it pays off in the end.

Small Treasure Tuesdays

Happy Tuesday everyone!I'm back from my week of absence! Memorial day kind of threw me off...If you wrote a post last week, you can link both up if you'd like!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page. If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!

So, this week my treasure is the video I posted yesterday (of course!), the warm weather finally!, and the fact that my hubby and I have been married for almost 2 years!! 

This is us on our one year anniversary :-)

We grow closer together everyday. I love him dearly.

AND What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-)

This Song is a Treasure

If you have ever dealt with addiction, or know someone who has, you should watch this video.

It was written and performed by my sister in-law Mia, as well as my hubby Michael.It is so powerful.
Michael made the video for it, and he worked so hard on picking pictures that could symbolize the lyrics as well as the message they are trying to get across.
I think you should all watch it to the end! and pass it on to your loved ones.
They have many wonderful songs that help take people through the steps of addiction and overcoming it. They have a cd out called Project Heal (available on iTunes and cdbaby), and are hoping to make another one soon.
ps. Sorry for my lack of blogging last week!Small Treasure Tuesdays will be back tomorrow :-)I'm sharing this at Nain's meme because I'm motivated to spread this video to everyone; because I think everyone can benefit from it in one way or another :)

Motivation is a Treasure

I totally spaced and didn't mention this on Monday, but here is this weeks challenge on Reasons to Lose.
I've been working out a lot las week and this week. I'm helping one of my good friends to win her offices Biggest Loser. My body is not used to working out two days in a row... possibly three. All I'm saying is she better win ;-P
I hope she does. She deserves it.
In other news I will hopefully be hearing back from the Dept. Chair tomorrow. It's been a pain, and I've had to have multiple people go over my case. If you have time please send positive thoughts and prayers my way, and his way so that he'll believe me.
If he doesn't follow my schools procedure then I will be taking my story to the news. The headlines will read something like "(my schools name) defends the pride of an adjunct instructor more than they defend the rights of a student." Pretty catchy huh? That should get peoples attention.
I hope all is well with you all. I've been super stressed about this whole situation. I really hope that it turns out in my favor, and soon.
I'm linking to Nain's meme Motivation Monday, even though it isn't Monday.because I'm motivated to fight this, and to help my friend win her Biggest Loser competition

Small Treasure Tuesdays

Happy Tuesday everyone!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page. If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
I knew this would happen... as soon as my photo challenge ended I've gone a whole week without blogging. I'm going to have to work on that :-)
This week I'm sharing ten blogs that make me smile (in no particular order):1 1/3. Life in the Pitts, 1 2/3. The Kaiser Two, 1 3/3. Amber's Blog2. NieNie Dialogues 3. Adventures in Love and Happiness4. You are my Fave5. Those Northern Skies6. View From Down Here7. Smacksy8. My New Life as a Housewife9. Hyperbole and a Half10. Color Me Katie
Yeah, I cheated and put 12, but I figured if my sisters blogs were under the same number it would count :-) What are some blogs that make you smile?
AND What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-)
Treasured Participants:Chloe @ My New Life as a HousewifeNain @ View From Down Here

Small Treasure Tuesdays

I had this post scheduled, but I made an error in the date when it was supposed to publish. And I only just realized... I do apologize! But you can still link up :-D
Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesday, on Wednesday!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page. If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
My Treasure is that it is the last day in my photo challenge... which is also kind of sad.I was doing so well up until the end, but even though my posts didn't always make it on time, they always made it. :)
I hope you guys enjoyed following my challenge. Let me know if you do it too!
So the last prompt is a photo of the place you would like to live out your days.

We really like Utah a lot, and we love St George. We would like to travel around, and I of course want to visit Michigan (where I grew up) but we would be perfectly happy to live out our days in Utah 

But wherever we are, as long as we're together, I'm home :-)

What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-)

Treasured Participants:

Chloe @ My New Life as a Housewife

Nain @ View From Down Here

Day 34 is a Treasure

I'm glad my post that I had written on Wednesday came back! Sweet.I'm also glad blogger worked out it's issues :-)
Well, I kind of got behind over the weekend, so here is day 34.The prompt is a photo of your parents at your age

I'm not actually certain how old they were in this picture, but I like it.They're having fun together, and they look happy :-)
Remember Reasons to Lose? Well, I won the award for doing the most challenges! Which is pretty awesome if I do say so myself. We're starting up another 3 months today, and I'm going to be in charge this "season" of posting the weekly challenges. 
You guys are of course welcome to play along! If anyone is interested I'll have a post over there each week where you can link up how you did on the challenges as well? Let me know if that's something you're interested in :-)
Since I'm motivated to do well this season (on working out and on posting the challenges) I'm linking this post to Nain's meme Motivation Monday! :-)