{Wednesday SMILES}

It's Wednesday... which means it's time for my...

 Watching the adorable Little Mrs. Morgan while her parents are off playing,

most definitely had me SMILING this week!

She is seriously such a doll, and such an easy baby...

she ALMOST makes me baby-hungry...

but not quite :).

Girl's day out to see the totally anticipated

Breaking Dawn

With some of my favorite ladies absolutely makes me SMILE!

 Getting a mad craving for a yummy caramel apple...

So my wonderful hubby stopped by the store to get all of the

Ingredients to make them Homemade... {My first time!}

 Then having them turn out fabulously... totally and completely makes me SMILE!

Not going to lie, these babies were DELISH!!!

 The fact that I am officially off of work for 5 whole days -

Most definitely has me SMILING from ear to ear!!

YAY for the Thanksgiving Holiday and a looooong weekend!! 

We sure have an awful lot to be THANKFUL for!

 And finally I am so SMILING about my excitement for

 BLACK FRIDAY!!

I will totally be "one of those crazies" out and about all hours of the night getting my shop on!!

Eeeeek.... I just cannot wait!!!

***MOVIE REVIEWS***

Most importantly, and by far the best:

BREAKING DAWN

 Oh.My.Hannah - this movie absolutely didn't disappoint! First of all, the hair, make up and wardrobe was THE BEST it's been in any of the movies {LOVED Alice's hair! So freaking cute!!} And Bella's make up was incredible, she looked gorgeous for the wedding, then with the pregnancy looked so realistically sick! The acting has also gotten better, which makes the movie so much less cheesy :). Now, the negative... there were a couple parts {Ummm... Power Ranger wolves or Imprinting on babies...} that were just way too creepy and odd for my liking... and I will say this was a pretty gory movie! Oh and I probably wouldn't let my 14 year old daughter see it {Maybe I'm a square...} But it gets pretty racy! Although, I wasn't complaining ...

 BOW-CHICKA-WOW-WOW!

And the way it ended?! Brilliant! I absolutely cannot wait for Part 2!!

Next up:

FOOTLOOSE

 I said a little about it in the my last post... but I definitely thought it deserved a full Laura review :). This movie was just so much fun! They did a fantastic job of keeping it so much like the first one... but much better! Julianne Hough is sooo adorable! {Even if she does get a bit skank-ish in the movie :)} Oh and Ren... I mean Kenny is so dang cute! {And it probably it helps that his first scene in the movie he looks just like my Michael!} The dance scenes in the movie were my fave! Both Julianne and Kenny are so talented that it was just fabulous watch! We definitely loved it!

THE IDES OF MARCH

 This movie was absolutely fantastic! The story is amazing, the actors are just so dang talented {And absolutely not hard to look at - HELLLLOOOO Ryan Gosling! :)} It's got Politics, drama AND the perfect amount of scandal! The entire movie was just so well put together, it definitely had us interested the entire time! Such a fascinating story!
**Michael's rating: B+

LIMITLESS

 We didn't see this movie in the theatre, but we had been hearing about how good it is from multiple people. So Halloween night we finally decided to watch it... and it most definitely did not disappoint! This movie is so interesting... and there are so many twists, that we were totally and completely enthralled for the entire thing! This one simple pill turned his life upside down... almost for the better {for a short time at least!} What would I do if I could use my ENTIRE brain, not just the normal "10%". It's one of those movies that leaves you talking and thinking about it for the next week! So good!
**Michael's rating: B

And last the worst of all the game...

THE RUM DIARY

Seriously Johnny? This movie was HORRID! Just plain awful! I was completely bored, and the story just honestly wasn't there! I tried to think of how to explain it, but it made my brain hurt HA! It's okay though, the most important thing you need to know.... Do not waste your money seeing this movie. NO BUENO! 

**Michael's rating: C- -



{SMILES}

 I know it's been in my SMILES for at least 3 weeks... but OH.MY.HANNAH did H&M have Jenna and I SMILING on Friday afternoon!!!

 It opened at noon on Friday... but we decided we weren't going to wait in the long line for hours to be some of the first ones in.. {People slept in their cars Thursday night to be some of the first ones in!} We got there about 1:30, and there was still a line outside! HA! We decided to wait it out and were waiting outside for about 25 minutes, then they let us inside the mall and there was another line to get into the store! But let me tell you, that 45 minutes?! ABSOLUTELY worth the wait! Even with the super crowded store, both Jenna and I left with a fabulous haul! H&M, so close to home totally and completely has me SMILING!!

 Sunday baking at the Burtis house means delicious NO-BAKE-COOKIES!! YUMMY! Seriously, I may not have much talent in the kitchen area {Thank goodness for a hubby that loves to cook!} But oh man, can I make a mean batch of No Bakes! DELISH! These cookies absolutely had Michael and I SMILING!

Movie nights with my sister Kat always make me SMILE...

 But a DANCE MOVIE, where we are the only ones in the theatre ...{except for one random old guy}... where we can dance our butts off with the actors at the end of the movie, are most definitely my fave!
The new Footloose was definitely top notch!

 And finally, absolutely making me SMILE this week... meet the absolutely adorable...

 Bridger Anderson

CONGRATS to our friends, Shantai and Coby - they welcomed this super cute bundle of joy on Monday and we just couldn't be happier for their beautiful family!

{I SMILE Wednesday}

 I SMILE when I get to celebrate baby boy #2 for my super cute friend, Shantai, with a baby shower with our fabulous girlfriends! {Shantai is seriously due ANY minute, so excited for their adorable little family!}
New babies and great girlfriends most definitely make me SMILE!

 I SMILE because H&M officially opens in Salt Lake City this Friday!!!!! I have been looking forward to this for months!!! Seriously - SO EXCITED, I can hardly wait!!!!!

 SMILING at the extra hour of sleep we got this week thanks to the end of Daylight Savings!! I'm a gal that LOVES her sleep, more than just about anything! So getting an extra hour.... absolutely FABULOUS!!!
P.s. How adorable is this clock I found on Pinterest!? Love it!

 And finally, most definitely SMILING because also happening this Friday - my phone is up for an upgrade!! Can I get a WHOOT WHOOT?! I've totally loved my Blackberry, but it's been super emotional lately, I don't get all my emails, or FB notifications - sometimes the sound works, sometimes it doesn't. Needless to say, I'm ready for a new one!

 Hellloooooo HTC! I'm so excited for a new phone!!!
 Why HTC you ask? Well, frankly, I'm too cool for the iPhone.
{AKA - Tmobile is too lame for the iPhone. But whatev, I'm going to rock the HTC like it's NOBODY'S business!}

{Best Crock Pot recipe - EVER}

So,  I know I just did a recipe post... but seriously, I just had to post about my new

FAVORITE Crock Pot recipe! I didn't get it from Pinterest this time, I got it from my

Fix-it and Forget-it 5 Ingredients Favorites Recipe book!

There is seriously something SO wonderful about coming home from a

SUPER stressful day at work to a delicious dinner!

Anyway, onto the recipe...

Scalloped Potatoes and Bacon

6 potatoes, peeled and sliced, divided

1 small onion, diced

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

8 strips bacon, uncooked and diced.

10 3/4oz can cream of mushroom soup

1. Spray slow cooker w/ non-stick cooking spray.

2. Place half the sliced potatoes in bottom of slow cooker.

Top w/ half chopped onion, cheese and bacon.

3. Repeat layers in order then top with soup.

4. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours

So easy right?! I did my prep last night {Cutting the onions and potatoes}

So all I had to do was throw it all in this morning on my way out the door!

This is seriously so yummy and so easy! You must try it!!

P.s. I have a minor confession... That picture isn't really of my meal... I stole it from Google - 
But it is the same recipe, so that's what the picture should look like...

My pictures just didn't look right - and you eat with your eyes first so... Oh and what's a post without a picture?! 

{Pinterest Recipes}

I'm really starting to enjoy Pinterest...

I wasn't sure at first, and really didn't use it much...

But now that I've got the hang of it,

 I can honestly say that I completely L-O-V-E it!

My favorite of my boards are: Outfit Inspirations & Recipes to try

There are seriously so many fantastic ideas out there!

I've seen so many blogs that recreate ideas they find on Pinterest

And then blog about it! Most recent, and one of my faves is my friend April

So I've decided to follow their lead and blog about some of my recreations :)

This week I decided I was going to pick 4 recipes and try them at home!!

Our favorite recipe of the week was this:

One Pot, Stove Top, Creamy Mac n' Cheese

Basically, you cook the noodles in Milk, Nutmeg, Mustard Powder and Butter -

When the milk has all evaporated, you stir in the grated cheese of your choice.

It really was so simple and DELICIOUS!!

For the original recipe and actual directions {Mine do not do it justice :)}

Check White on Rice Couple

Our next favorite recipe - and probably the easiest:

Hawaiin Crockpot Chicken

That's it, I just put these 3 ingredients in the crockpot when I left for work.

Then when we got home, cooked some rice and it was ready to go!

So yummy and totally simple - my kinda recipe!

Original recipe:

Check The Mommy Diaries

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

First let me say, I love Beef Stroganoff, 

Actually - I LOVE my Mom's Beef Stroganoff :)

So I'm always a little hesitant to try other Stroganoff because I'm completely biased.

This recipe is pretty simple -

I did all my prep the night before

And had it all ready to throw in before I left for work.

Then we just made the pasta when we got home.

The flavor was pretty dang good - but the consistancy was just off.

So, I went back to the blog that posted this,

And SURPRISE, in the comments, like 10 down it said to add 1/2 cup of water!

HA! Well, that should probably be added to the recipe!

{Or maybe I should have just known to do that?!}

I may have to give this a second chance...

Recipe{Minus the 1/2 cup of water ;)}

Check The Crockstar

And finally, our least favorite:

Chicken and Cheese Lasagna Roll-Ups

The recipe is pretty easy - but it shows in the taste.

I probably should have done more with my sauce -

I just used a can of Prego, but I should have added more spice...

And probably added more chicken...

I don't know - we really just didn't love this recipe.

Maybe it would be better with Alfredo sauce???

For the recipe and directions:

Check iVillage

Until next time - Happy Pinning!!

{SMILES}

SMILING at all of the fabulous HALLOWEEN festivities this year... Over the weekend we went to a couple of parties! The first was at our good friend's- Shantai and Colby's it was an absolute blast, there was delicious food, fantastic company and freaking adorable entertainment!

Beau was a super cute Buzz Lightyear

Morgan was an adorable Watermelon

Sawyer was the very precious Little Red Riding Hood and

Corver was the cutest hobo I've ever seen!

All these freaking cute kiddos had us SMILING all night!

After that party, we headed to a dress up party with some of Michael's friend's from High School!
Michael was an {Extremely HANDSOME} Pilot and I was a sailor! 
{Oh yeah, I got to dress up twice this year!}

We of course were the first ones to call it a night, us old married people have a bedtime to stick to! But it was still a super fun night!  

Monday night we stayed home with 5 bags of candy ready for all of the

TRICK-OR-TREATERS!!! This might be my favorite part of HALLOWEEN! I absolutely love seeing all of the super cute kids in their costumes! I was definitely SMILING every single time the door bell rang!

We seriously had such a busy but very fun October, and now I can't believe it's already over!! But alas, November is now here, and there's plenty more that this gal is SMILING about!

Totally and completely SMILING because my favorite shoe peeps, TOMS is creating a Ballet Flat line!!!!! It's going to be coming in the Spring 2012! EEEEEK!!! I'm so dang excited!!
How friggen cute are these:  

 Seriously, I will take one of each, puh-leeze!!

And finally, I'm SMILING because it's the one of the happiest times of the year...

NORDY's HALF-YEARLY SALE!!! WHOOT WHOOT!!

If you need me and can't find me... Check here first! :)