Surprise Date at Southcenter Mall + Mall Haul

A couple of weeks ago, Israel asked me for my boss's phone number. I thought it was a little odd and I asked what he was up to but he just said nothing with a sweet, but sly smile. Later that week he would mention how excited he was for one of my Christmas presents and that I would be getting it early, so from there I knew he was planning something that would include me not being at work. Then last week, my boss told me that I would have the following Monday off! Still I had no idea what he had planned but I was definitely excited! (⁼̴̀ૢ꒳​⁼̴́ૢ๑)

Monday morning we left and drove for about an hour and half towards Seattle. Though the drive was a little lengthy, the weather was clear and beautiful and we had a nice time together just singing and listening to the Naruto station on Pandora.   Once we arrived at Southcenter Mall, Israel gave me a present! It was a cutely wrapped box with candy striped wrapping paper, a little over a foot long. I eagerly opened it and inside was a Boruto: Naruto the Movie poster and fake movie tickets that he had printed out. The tickets were a really clever touch and the poster is adorable and great quality too! ♡ He really knows me so well and I'm so lucky to have such a thoughtful and loving husband.

Inside the mall, we did some shopping and ate a late lunch/early dinner. Israel got Panda Express, and I got food from a little mall version of Mio Sushi. I'd never heard of Mio Sushi before, but it was really affordable and I can't express enough how delicious it was! I got half white rice, half greens, and then perfectly cooked Salmon Teriyaki with a over-hard fried egg to top it off. Ever since then it's all I've been craving.. (๑•́₋•̩̥̀๑) When getting our food, we separated to different parts of the food court. While Israel was at Panda, a man approached him and kind of sweet talked him with casual conversation. Then he mentioned he was hungry, and Israel offered to buy him some Panda Express. The guy said no and that he could only eat soup because he had bad teeth, but he would take cash instead. Israel said he could get food for him from somewhere else, but the guy just wanted cash. He even insisted on Israel going to an ATM but Israel just apologized and said that he couldn't do it.. and then the guy got angry with him and stormed off.  ٩(๑`^´๑)۶ Clearly he didn't want the money for food, and it's just irritating how people will try to take advantage of others like that..

Cutie ლ(́◉◞౪◟◉‵ლ)

Southcenter mall is HUGE, with over 200 stores! There are parts of the mall that we never made it over to, just because of time mostly. But even then by the time we were heading for the theaters, our feet were exhausted and begging us to sit down. (˘̭⺫˘̭ ;) It's a beautiful mall and with the holiday season there were Christmas trees, pretty lights, and decorations scattered about. With our semi-limited time, we still made it to every store that we wanted! I'll share some pictures of some of the things we bought. (❛ัॢᵕ❛ั ॢ)✩*ೃ.⋆

Daiso! We also got a ton of candy and kawaii snacks which were eaten before the picture could be taken.. ♡♡♡

H&M! Israel and I are actually going to be sharing the sweater. I love H&M's men clothes because they are so comfortable! It was really tempting to just get my own but we'll just share it since it looks good on both of us. And the hat I couldn't resist, I'm a sucker for anything with ears on it. ♡ॢ₍⸍⸌̣ʷ̣̫⸍̣⸌₎

Lush! Ugh I could go on and on about how much I adore Lush! But I'll keep this short heehee. Of course we just had to pick out a few bath bombs. We got the Ickle Baby Bot for Xavi because it's a little more mild and he loves it. Then we also picked out Intergalactic because who wouldn't want a galaxy in their bath?? I'm so excited to try it out! ♡ In the spirit of the season, we grabbed Father Christmas which smelt so lovely and similar to candy canes. And look how cute his face is!

Israel wanted to try one of the soaps since his skin has been really dry and itchy lately with the colder weather that's been going on. The sweet Lush lady recommended Porridge for us since it's perfect for sensitive skin and becomes smooth and milky under hot water. It has a gentle caramel smell that will leave the skin soft and pretty.

The last mall shop we bought things from was really fun and had a wide variety of things, but we were glued to the anime section. (￣ω￣;) They had lots of figures, plushies, bags, clothes, cosplay gear, posters, stickers, books, and more! The little corner of the store had a way better selection than the actual anime-dedicated stores that are at our local malls. They had these sparkly stickers for only 25 cents each and so we picked several of them!

I was SO HAPPY to find these Kamisama Hajimemashita posters! It's my favorite manga and the anime is just as beautiful as the manga though it only has two seasons out right now. (˘̩̩̩ε˘̩ƪ)

Israel picked out a few Naruto posters! They had a great deal of 3 of the smaller ones for $10, and 2 of the larger ones for $10 as well.

My favorite thing we got from there was this adorable little Kakashi figure. My one regret is not buying more because they were only $9.99 each! ｡:ﾟ(;´∩`;)ﾟ:｡ He now proudly stands next to our little manga collection.

I adore this man.

This date was a blast and maybe one of the most fun we've ever been on. My sweet husband is seriously the best!! I love him so much more than I could express; I'm so grateful for the memories that we have and the ones that we'll have later on. Thanks for reading!

Easy Recipe: Three-Ingredient Popovers! (Picky Toddlers LOVE Them!)

I hope everyone is enjoying their December! Today starts the 12 Days of Christmas that I'll be doing for my sweet husband! The holidays and cold weather always makes me feel like baking so I thought I'd share one of our family's favorite breakfast recipes. (⑅˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈ )

♡*･(๑°꒵°๑) POPOVERS (๑°꒵°๑)･*♡

In second grade, my best friend at the time (and good friend now), Mara and I would ALWAYS make these! Even when we had our last sleepover our sophomore year, we still made these for breakfast the next day. They're delicious, require only three ingredients, and so easy! Popovers are eggy and filling and remind me of miniature German pancakes. I'll include a more formal recipe at the bottom of this page, and before then I'll just explain into some detail what I do to make these little angels.

So to start, I preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then I prepare my three simple ingredients!

I'll crack the eggs in the bowl first, and whisk those lightly. After that, I add the single cup of flour and of milk and mix those in as well. If you have a small child handy, I've found them to be pretty good mixers. ♡

Once the batter is all mixed and ready, I'll spray a standard size muffin sheet (makes approximately 12 muffins). Then pour the batter into each muffin mold, filling up only about halfway since it will rise. Pop it in the oven and let it bake for 20-25 minutes, or whenever the edges are golden brown. I like to immediately butter each popover so they soak up a little flavor and richness! 

They cool pretty quick, so after a few minutes I'll take them out of the muffin pan and set them on a plate. My favorite topping is pure butter, butter, and more butter! (´꒳`;) Xavi loves them just plain! But for those with more of a sweet tooth, I recommend a little bit of your favorite jam, some powdered sugar, and/or my aunt's delicious butter milk syrup! (ง ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)ง

Popovers

Yield: 12 medium popovers   Prep Time: 5-10 minutes   Cook Time: 20 minutes   Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

- 2 large eggs

- 1 cup whole milk

- 1 cup all-purpose flour

Additional Toppings (Optional)

- butter

- jam

- powdered sugar

- syrup

- butter milk syrup

- honey

- fresh fruit

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2. Crack the two large eggs into a large bowl, and whisk them for about 30 seconds

3. Mix in one cup of milk and one cup of flour

4. Spray muffin sheet with oil

5. Pour batter into muffin molds, filling each mold about halfway

6. Place into oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown

7. Remove muffin sheet from the oven and immediately butter the tops of the popovers. They'll look big and fluffy but will start to deflate quickly.

8. After letting them cool for a minute or two, remove from muffin sheet and they're ready to enjoy!

12 Days of Christmas (On a Budget!)

ﾟ･:*:･｡(〃･ω･)ﾉ由☆*:;;;:*мёггу снгisтмдs*:;;;:*☆由ヽ(･ω･〃)｡･:*:･ﾟ

I think most of us know the classic Christmas song, "Twelve Days of Christmas". It's repetitive, catchy, and admittedly a little annoying. (^_^;) That being said, I love the phrase "My true love gave to me". Inspired by it, I thought it would be fun to come up with a "12 Days of Christmas" event that you can do for someone that you love. I'll be doing it for my husband Israel! ♡

So the actual 12 Days of Christmas are supposed to start on December 25th. and go till January 5th, twelve days after Christmas. I'm going to start twelve days before Christmas (Dec.13th) to sort of help build up the excitement for Christmas day, but you can do it whenever you'd like! ଘ(੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭✧

Israel and I are dirt poor. He's a full time student, I work a part-time job at a cute little Greek restaurant, and we currently live with my parents since we can't afford our own place at the moment. Basically all of the money we make is going into school and savings, especially since we plan on moving to Idaho next year for Israel's bachelors degree. This time of year we put some money aside for presents and such, but even then we don't have much to spare. So, in order to do the 12 Days of Christmas without breaking the bank, I've come up with some inexpensive gift ideas for my sweet lover. You can do what I'm doing, or come up with some of your own according to what you can afford and what your loved one likes.

12 Days of Christmas

Day 1: 12 Days of Christmas Introduction letter + Sweater with pocket
I did this last year for a few relatives/friends and Israel LOVED it. He was super bummed I didn't make one for him too. Go to Walmart, get one of their basic, comfy sweaters for about $5-8 and then get some small piece of scrap fabric big enough to be a cute little pocket. Cut and sew the pocket, and then sew it on to the sweater and BAM! Adorable, simple, and cozy sweater that I think we all deserve to have. With it, I'm going to give him a letter just letting him know that I love him and that he's become the victim of my 12 Days of Christmas gift event.

Day 2: Two Warm Towels
This one costs nothing, unless you want to go out and buy two brand new towels which is not a bad idea. Basically all it is, is you prepare two clean, warm towels from the dryer for your loved one before or while they're showering. As soon as they're finished showering, have the fresh, warm towels ready. It's easy, but meaningful and a nice way to start their day.

Day 3: Take Three of Their Chores
Another one that doesn't cost a dime, but also shows lots of love through service. Is it their day to do dishes? Do it for them! I'll be picking three of Israel's chores and doing it for him to give him a little bit of relaxation for the day. ♡

Day 4: Breakfast in Bed - Four Crepes
Israel and I loveeee crepes! They're probably my favorite breakfast food and they're kind of special to us since a lot of our dates will include eating at this cute crepe/frozen yogurt place at our favorite mall. For the fourth day, I'm going to get up a little bit earlier (probably with Xavi) and prepare some breakfast in bed for him! The recipe I'll be using is absolutely delicious and easy! ( ˘▽˘)

Day 5: Five Yummy Treats

Everyone loves snacks and candies and so you really can't go wrong when gifting it! I'm going to pick five super yummy and cute snacks and then wrap them all Christmas-y for him! Some things I'll include are Chocolate and Strawberry Pocky, Taro Mochi (we love to eat it frozen), Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds (They're Israel's favorite!), and Hi-Chew!

Day 6: Six Part Family Date
Day 6 is on a Friday, so I won't be working that day and we'll have some flexibility to go somewhere! My plan for the sixth day is to take Israel and Xavi to six different places. If the weather is nice, we'll go somewhere pretty like the LDS Temple for a picnic. Then we'll go to a park and play soccer. After that we can go and get a little treat, like an ice cream cone from McDonalds! (๑♡⌓♡๑) I'm not sure what we'll do for the next two parts yet because I'm pretty sure Xavi will fall asleep in the car at this point but I'll figure it out! And we'll end the six-part date by picking up a movie from Redbox and watching it together at home. ♡

Day 7: Game Night
So the seventh day doesn't really have anything to do with the number seven, but it's something that I've been wanting to do with Israel for a while now! I plan to wake up really early with Xavi that day and get his nap in earlier in the day so that he'll go to bed at an early time. Maybe I won't even let him nap haha! Once the baby is asleep, Israel and I are going to have a game night together! I'll let him pick the game, whether he wants Mario Kart or some other video game, a card game, or board game. Whatever he decides to pick, I'm "game" (￣ω￣;) heh-heh..


Day 8: Eight Love Letters
I love romantic love letters! ♡ฅ(ᐤˊ꒳ฅˋᐤ♪) Now and days, the art of writing a letter is practically lost and that makes me so sad. There is just something so special about a hand-written, personal letter. While sweet texts are nice, they don't have the originality or amount of compassion that you can really feel when reading a letter than you can physically touch and hold in your hands. So for the eighth day, I'm going to write eight different love letters for Israel, each with a piece of chocolate, and then scatter them around the house for him to find at different times of the day.

Day 9: Nine Minute Massage
This is another easy one but I think it's something that most people would appreciate! I'll give Israel a nine minute massage or back scratch, he can decide. And afterwards I'll prepare a hot, bubbly bath for him. Everyone deserves a little pampering! ♡✧( ु•⌄• )

Day 10: Brownies!
Amazingly simple! Yet so pleasing! A cheap boxed brownie mix can be super delicious, and I love to add powdered sugar on my freshly baked brownies to make them a little prettier. And come on, who doesn't love brownies? ♡♡♡

Day 11: Eleven Page Coupon Book

Coupon books can be so fun and handy! I'm going to make a pretty little coupon book that can fit into his wallet. You can put whatever you'd like in it that you think your special someone will enjoy, but some things I will include are: "Get the Morning to Sleep In", "30 Minutes of Undivided Attention", "Meal of Your Choice", and "Cuddles".

Day 12: 2015 Photo Book

For the last day, I will be gifting Israel a 2015 photo book of our family. This is the one I'm most excited for and will be saving for Christmas-Eve. There's a few places you can do it like Walmart, Walgreens, and Costco. Photo books are a beautiful way to preserve memories and it's more personal than just a simple photo album on Facebook.

Thanks so much for reading everyone! I hope my 12 Days of Christmas inspires you to do something special for those that you love. If you have any of your own suggestions or ideas that you'll be doing, comment below! Happy Holidays cuties!! (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧♡