very {good} things moment: rooster dumpling + noodle bar

introducing one of the most delicious date nights provided by university ave. (just north of provo's center street)...

rooster dumpling +noodle bar

located at 163 north university ave., provo, ut
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b

the ambiance is fabulous.
there's a refreshing minimalist feel to the decor.
perfect down to the last light switch.
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specialty dumplings (4 different fillings to choose from
and each offers a new tasty experience
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thai basil rice... my fave
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lunch special: rooster's own pulled pork sandwich...
scrumptious & affordable
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but among all of these wonderful things that make up rooster,
my favorite is the owner, simy.
the recipes are hers. she and her husband, andy, run the show.
and they do a beautiful job.

thank you simy and andy for sharing this beautiful place with us.

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see www.roosterdnb.com for more info.

one for my mister...

you are a fox, baby. i love you. i'm thinking about you.
thank you for loving me.

xo... beck

{good}things moment: pasta for one!

i was sitting on my couch tonight wondering why i was so hungry when it dawned on me... i hadn't eaten all day. and since i only had random items of food left in the fridge (didn't bother to go grocery shopping this weekend), i had to improvise. thus was born my first very own recipe! and to my surprise... it didn't suck. here it is:

sauteed bacon and mushroom pasta with avocado

cute little red plates do add a little something-something, but they are not a requirement ;)

how to:

4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp favorite seasoning {i used an italian mix, but i'm sure your fave is delicious!)
6 slices of bacon
1 & 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
handful of wheat spaghetti noodles (break them in half for easier cooking/eating)
sprinkle of parmesan

start heating water to a boil for the noodles. chop the bacon into smaller sections. combine bacon, olive oil, seasoning, and mushrooms in a medium saucepan. saute on medium-high. while these are sauteing, cook the pasta (app. 5 minutes). strain pasta (but do not rinse).

to serve (1-2 ppl):
spoon mushroom-bacon mix onto the pasta. sprinkle or grate parmesan over the pasta. slice one avocado and place slices around the edges of plate as yummy garnish. sprinkle avocado with salt if desired.

presto. ENJOY!

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{good} things moment: for the brides...

planning a wedding? maybe some of these suggestions can help...
{make sure and click on the links for the vendor's website}

{if you are having a temple marriage in utah i highly recommend the salt lake temple. beautiful vintage photo locales, helpful temple workers, gorgeous interior, and an over-whelming spirit or peace surrounding the entire temple grounds. but spaces fill up fast, so call them as soon as you know what date you will be getting married!}

{i found the bridesmaids' dresses at shabby apple. they specialize in modest but trendy vintage-style dresses. perfect for throw-back, classy wedding decor. the pearls i found at downeast outfitters, which always have a good selection of downeast basics jewelry}

{jun song was our reception and wedding photographer. his photos and editing techniques are innovative and perfect for any wedding. he sat down with clint and me a week or so before the reception to make sure he had all the details down and knew how we wanted everything to look... great guy to work with}

{my favorite part of the material part of my wedding was my dress. i looked online and in stores for the perfect dress for me, but it just didn't exist. aunt amber was nice enough to suggest shawna schauers, the seamstress of bridal dreams. she was so fun to work with, let me design the dress, and made my visions a reality. miracle worker.}

{white willow reception center provided a great location for both the luncheon and the reception. they were an all around answer to prayers: a one-stop-shop. they took care of catering, decorations, set-up, food, the wedding cake, bouquets, and the send-off. it was beautiful. the owner (whose name happens to be becky) has great taste and can help any bride to shape her ideas to create a beautiful, celebratory ambiance.}

{no matter how busy your reception may be, make sure to take a break to sample the yummies you are serving. you'll regret it if you don't!}

{the rings: i would recommend wilson's jewelers... great selection, very competitive prices, awesome help... very nice}

contact me if you need anymore suggestions!

{good} things moment: the lovely bones

one day at the salt lake city airport i became uncomfortably bored and set out on a quest for something to keep me from biting my nails or awkwardly staring at people. the lovely bones is what i found. alice sebold's writing is refreshingly different. her style develops with the characters, the mark of a true artistic writer, i do believe.


after reading the novel, i just had to see the movie. i went out with some of my most favorite gals and we laughed, cried, screamed, and spilled our popcorn together...

(((note on photo of cute gal pals... erin aka "duke" is missing; this is actually a photo of almost the same group of girls on the opening night of "new moon"... sorry duke)))

i highly recommend both the novel and the film. both had me emotionally enthralled: crying one minute, about-the-pee-my-pants scared the next, and finally relieved and enlightened.

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the dealio: {goods}{bads}{uglies}

HELLO lovelies!

Recently I started this blog in celebration of the beautiful world we live in, which until a couple days ago was just meant to update friends and family on the happenings of daily life. However, I am starting something new that I hope will prove valuable to many of you. As often as possible, I will post a blog with a review of something good, bad, or downright ugly, that I have tried recently. This may include, but is not limited to, new recipes, places to shop, movies, books, art venues, restaurants, various types of vendors (photography, salons), workout routines and health tips, etc. You will automatically know how I feel about the subject of the blog post, b/c it'll be labeled {good} things moment; {bad} things moment; or {ugly} things moment. Most often I will be reporting {good} things. So please check it out. Become a follower of the blog {{all you need is a gmail account to do so}} and leave your feedback; it would be very helpful to me and hopefully beneficial to other readers! There's already a post or two, but there will be many to follow, so keep coming back for more! Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy...

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nightmares.

{please do not read this if you are easily scared... it's just my way of getting things off my mind, but that doesn't mean you need to read it.}

if i could describe my dreams, i would do it in one word... bad. i do not have good dreams. even if they aren't about horrible things, they are twisted and eerie and cause me to wake up with the fear that a single second longer spent in my dream-world might cause permanent damage. i wake to find clint by my side, thankful that i can cling to his arm and rest my head on his shoulder, confident that this will end the nightmares.

i did a little image search for pictures of nightmares in search of a few that could describe mine... here is what i came up with:






here's what happened this morning:

dropped clint off at the airport this morning at 6 am. the upstairs tenants were quiet as i slipped back into my bed to sleep a little more, fully intending to get up an hour later in time for church. that's when the crazy nightmares started:

nightmare #1: i was walking along freedom blvd. very late at night. i was in jogging clothes, probably finishing up one of those midnight runs that clint won't (and thankfully so) let me do. i was approaching the darkened backside of a store where a man was leaning nonchalantly against the wall. as i got closer, his attention didn't seemed to move from his fingernails, which he seemed to be picking at intently. i passed by him only to hear him start to breath more heavily, and i could feel his eyes on the back of my head. I turned in time to see him lunge after me, anger mixed with a darker expression marked his bearded face. i ran. i ran up and down the dark streets of provo. i would approach people in a sprint, but i couldn't scream, couldn't tell them what was happening. i knew if i stopped i would die. i ran all the way to macey's, which was still lighted inside and employees' cars littered the parking lot. but the closer i got the more desolate the parking lot became. the lights from the grocery store slowly faded to darkness. but the doors were open. i ran inside, hoping to lose myself in one of the many aisles. but the bearded, sweaty man was close behind. he could hear every footstep. after a few futile attempts to hide myself, i made a run for the outside world. i made it. but i could still hear him breathing behind me. as i sprinted out of the doors and onto the little winding street behind the store, it began to rain. there was a group of strong-looking male runners jogging along the road. i'm safe. but as i tried to get the men to understand what was happening, to hide me in their midst, they just looked at me blankly, jogging, jogging jogging. all that muscle was wasted as one by one they disappeared. i began to grow tired and as my running slowed, i looked down at myself. i was no longer wearing my joggin apparel, but cowgirl boots, a pink, flowery baby-doll top, and i had long, flowing brown hair. i was no longer me and i became the on-looker instead of the pursued. i watched the man catch up to the knew girl. he grabbed her beautiful long hair and pulled her to the groung. he grabbed her ankle and pulled her along the muddy ground to a dimly lighted house on the side of the road. all the while he talked to her, telling her of his experience chasing girls just like her. telling her she would be afraid now but she would thank him for catching her later. but she knew she wouldn't thanks him. i knew she was going to die. i saw her later in the mud and i looked up at her from inside the earth. her face was my face. we were the same. i was dirty and wet and cold.

my alarm went off. i didn't get out of bed.

nightmare #2: maybe as punishment for my fear of things that don't exist and for my inexcusable laziness, i had a second bad dream. this one was a bit more comical but weird and disconcerting to me, nontheless. i dreamed that after my alarm went off a second time i actually got out of bed. as i entered the little hall separating our room from the living area, i heard someone unlock the door and come down the stairs. i was about to run back into my room, when i saw one of our upstairs tenants enter the living room. so i approached her, asking her how she had a key and why she was there. she said she had seen clint leave and thought it would be okay to bring the other girls downstairs to hang out for a while. that was fine with me until they wouldn't let me in the bathroom and began to eat all of our food. i had my friend brittney come over. apparently all of her clothes had gotten lost on the drive to my house (with the exception of the ones she had on) and she asked the girls if she could borrow one of their shirts. one of the girls said she could, but she would have to pay her for the shirt. earlier that day the girls had raided my closet and were wearing all of my clothes, so the fact that they were charging my friend to borrow theirs really ticked me off. i told them it was time for them to leave. they weren't very happy but one by one they too disappeared, just like the jogging men in the first dream. brittney disappeared too. the little apartment grew darker and darker and i could hear breathing at the windows. i knew i was going to die.

an alarm i hadn't set went off. i reluctantly got up and started my day.

{good} and {ugly} things moment... byu v utah...

well, the moment byu and u of u fans had been waiting for all season arrived last night. the show-down happened in the marriott center amidst a packed stadium of screaming fans (both cougs and utes). it was beautiful. doors opened at 5:30 pm for the 7 pm game, and only 6,000 students were to be admitted. the student section line started at the doors and ended somewhere across the street from the museum of art. intense. i may or may not have cut in line. small mounds of food and left-over soda cans from die-hard fans who had camped out starting friday morning littered the line of people waiting to get in. spirits were high, and a prayer of "please just let us beat ____{insert name of other team}___ " hovered in the air from fans on either side.

just a couple of pics to show we were there...

welcome to the marriott center, ya'll

happy to be there

getting us pumped

for those who missed it, here is my quick assessment: cougar energy was high in the first half, leaving us with a substantial lead by half-time. but there must have been one heck of a pep-talk given in the utes locker room, because they came back with avengeance, ready for cougar blood... literally. spirits were waning with 10 minutes to go. jimmer fredette, being the trooper he is, whipped out a couple of 3 pointers to get the blood pumping again. then this happened. {you really only need to watch the first 1 minute and 20 seconds of this to get the gist}. at any rate, cougs were enraged, boylen looked a tad bit ridiculous, and byu won 82 to 69.

a note: pre-game, clint and i enjoyed a wonderful dinner at rooster dumpling and noodle bar. the food was divine, the owner was super-cute and super-nice, and there will be more on that to come. i am going back for lunch in a couple of days to taste some more of the delectable cuisine, visit with the owner, and take some pictures of the delightful decor. please come back to check for more details. for the website click the logo below...

{good} things moment...fun with friends and foxes...

Had a lovely time last night on one of our first double-married-people-dates with Alex and Holly Steed {love them}. We had a lovely little feast of pizza, a fruit/veggie platter {horribly prepped due to my lack of foresight}, and chips & salsa with the most grapiest grape generic Crystal Lite I have ever tasted. Next, we went out on the town! {of provo}, stopped by the Dollar Tree for some sneak-in snacks, and hit up the dollar theater for their showing of this awesome movie...

{Fantastic Mr. Fox}

George Clooney and Meryl Streep were a super-funny Mr. & Mrs. Fox

I now wanna name my first boy Kristofferson, b/c of the cutie-pie fox-child on the left.

I whole-heartedly endorse this movie to all those who love to laugh, appreciate innovative art, like a little more substance even in animated films, and {apparently} those who are lovers of Roald Dahl books, since this incredibly entertaining show is based on his book...

I'm excited to read the book now!

After the movie, we retired to our cozy, little basement apartment for some Cranium fun...

Thanks to Holly and Alex for providing such fun company!

...the bless-ed day...

I wanted to post a few pics that aren't on
Facebook to give a little inside view into
the happiest day of my {our} life!
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Finally married and finally able to relax,

I was breathing a heavy sigh of relief... I looked
at Jun (our awesome photographer)
and dared him to do his worst.
Bring on the hours of photos in the
freezing cold!
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These beautiful little ladies (mostly cousins) pitched in to help
with my massive skirt.
Little Lexi (Boyack) couldn't stop staring...
I was told a little later that she thought
I might be a real princess.

Little girls are so precious<3>
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I hope you can see the numbers, because
it's time to review (if you can't see the numbers on the pic then click on it to enlarge):
1 Mom's eyes are closed. An expression of sheer joy, I'm sure.
{or maybe it was exhaustion..}
2 Clint is apparently about to serenade us!
3 He also may or may not knock Marleen out... Ah!
4 I adore Clint's Grandma Helen! Her sweet-mannered wave
is very fitting for her sweet demeanor.
Either that or she thought that throwing our hands in the air
on a crowded staircase was as awkward as I did;)
5 {A} Aunt Amber is either very excited to be there or very cold;
I will let you decide.
{B} ...A photo rivalry... Amber v. Edson. Point for Amber.
6 Kade (love that kid) is both in pain and feeling way too cool
to be waving his hand in the air.
SO he naturally opted for the #1 sign, b/c he knows we are #1!
Smart guy...
7 Dad is a little distracted.
8 Lexi... ha ha ha. She is quite obviously not amused.
9 Kate is going to be a lover of roller coasters!
10 Famous Nikki face.
11 Not a face or position I have ever seen Uncle Art pulling... love it!

What a good looking family!
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Preliminary Bouquet-Toss Prep:

Trying to warn the gals that the bouquet may
knock them out.
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Camille= Winner!!!
{although she might view that a little differently}
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Clint and I stole a minute {which we thought was to ourselves}
to enjoy a little newly-wed PDA.
Apparently Jun found us with his camera.
And before Jun could reach us to resume taking pictures,
an old man {who had been sitting across the hall
watching us... not creepy...} interrupted our smooching
to have a pretty lengthy conversation about
the various weddings going on around Temple Square.
Very nice man. Kinda bad timing.
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I love this picture.
It reminds me of the long road that is ahead of us.
We are now a separate entity in charge of taking care of each other.
There will be hard days, I know.
There will be hard work that needs to be done, I know.
There may be difficult children,
burnt dinners,
long nights,
nasty landlords,
strange places,
dirty dishes,
bad face days,
evolution debates {j/k},
loads of laundry,
bills bills bills,
hurt feelings...
But for every one of those sad/bad/gross/monotonous times
I know there will be a million and one
kisses,
prayers,
late-night movies,
Friday date nights,
nighttime jogs,
surprises,
soft-spoken secrets,
cuddles,
little baby hands,
crayon drawings on the fridge,
new recipes,
happy memories...
LOVE.
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Thank you for sharing the love.