five things friday.

my darling evan headed up the mountain past heber city for a men's retreat with some guys from our church for the night.  this is a perfect weekend for him to get away and be encouraged by some great and godly men that we have been blessed to have in our lives.

in the mean time, im hanging out at home and trying to pass the time. so here are five things to do on an evening without your man:

if i have to choose between doing laundry and dishes, or cuddling up with evan and watching a movie... i will always choose evan and the movie.  so if your man is out for the night, do some chores! this way things get done, and you get that cuddling time with your hubby when he gets home.

need i say more? it's fabulous anytime you get to sit down and do a craft, so just do it {i made some coasters-- tiles, scrap book paper, and mod podge is all you need!}.

 
life can get so hectic and often times our relationship with God suffers because of it.  any time you are alone in the house i suggest sitting down to read the bible, pray, and journal about your time with jesus.  times in the word sharpen you as a wife, and better equip you to encourage your husband.

emails, text messages, and phone calls are wonderful and practical ways to stay in contact with people, but there is something so special about receiving a hand written note.  take the time to write a kind note to someone who has been on your heart, it will mean a lot!

after doing the first four, you must be exhausted! take some time to put your feet up, pop in one of those movies your husband absolutely looooves {sarcasm} watching with you, and paint your nails! you deserve it, it's been quite the night!

coach urbina.

disclaimer: this is going to be a total brag post about my husband.

my husband evan is an amazing tennis player. uh-may-zing! evan received a full ride tennis scholarship to brigham young university.  while on the team, he played number one singles and doubles consistently, and was the captain his senior year.  the byu cougars accomplished incredible things while he was on the team.

one of evan's greatest traits as a teammate and captain was his amazing ability to encourage.  he loved taking on the challenge of leading by example, rallying the team to a come from behind win, and inspiring the guys to finish out tough matches.  with such an amazing ability to lead and encourage it's no surprise that he wants to be a coach.

this spring, evan became the head coach of the orem high boys tennis team {not bad considering he was still a college student when he got the job}.  all of the guys loved having him as a coach, and it was so amazing to see him thrive in that role.  the team had a great season, and the boys learned a ton from evan!

although he loved coaching the high school team, his real passion in division I tennis.  we are currently on the job hunt ready to uproot and go wherever so he can start his dream job.  we have no idea what the near future holds for us, but i know with certainty that whatever team gets my evan as their coach will succeed.  I am so thankful for my passionate coach, my devoted husband, and my best friend.

love you evan darling! xoxo.

hiking the y.

behind brigham young university there is a large cement "y" up on the mountain.  you can hike all the way to the top, it's amazing!  before evan and i were even dating we would go up there and just talk and laugh while we overlooked utah valley.  if you're ever in town you should totally do it!


the other night around 8:30 we decided to make the hike.  every time i hike the y it catches me off guard how difficult it is.  it is a relatively short hike, but it's steep the entire way up. boy oh boy was i gassed by the top. fortunately, it was an absolutely perfect evening {nice and cool}.


once we reached the top, we sat down and looked at the view of the sun setting over utah valley, and it took my breath away.  the grandeur of the mountains, the colors of the sunset, and the bright twinkles of the lights in the city were perfect reminders of just how creative and worthy of praise God is.  

"praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars!

praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!

mountains and hills, fruit trees and cedars!

let them praise the name of the Lord for his name alone is exalted;

his majesty is above the earth and heaven." 

{psalm 148:3-4, 9 &13}

salt lake saturday.

  

evan and i have been living in provo, utah for five years and have never spent much time in slc {only about 45 minutes away}.  so, saturday evan and i headed up to salt lake city for the day-- determined to explore this city inside and out! 

we left early in the morning {grabbed our starbucks of course} and made our first stop at the farmers/craft market at pioneer park.  i haven't been to a farmers market in years! the energy is so fun! vendors trying to entice customers, the smells of kettle corn and fresh fruits and veggies in the air... ah i love it!  as unbelievable as it may be, we didn't even buy anything {we are so frugal} but if i lived near a farmers market i would buy my weeks worth of veggies for sure!

after the farmers market we headed to the gateway mall.  it's a lovely outdoor mall with beautiful fountains, fun restaurants, and lots of great shops {personal favorites: anthropologie and urban outfitters}!  i love browsing. i'm a browser.  i enjoy buying new clothes and home decor of course, but i am perfectly content just looking around, dreaming about having endless amounts of money.

from there we headed to a couple old cathedrals. one greek orthodox, and the other catholic.  evan loves old buildings {especially churches and castles} so he loved it.  at the catholic church we were taking pictures and decided to go inside-- little did we know we were walking in on a wedding.  the priest announced "i now introduce mr. and mrs. {can't remember}, you may now kiss your bride." can you say wedding crashers?  we thought about staying in the entry way and being the first to congratulate the new couple, but using better judgement, decided to leave.

by now we were starving and ate at a cute little bakery/sandwich shop at the city creek mall {another beautiful outdoor mall} called hagermann's.  it was decent, however evan got a better sandwich than i did. california club is always the way to go. why did i think otherwise?

rejuvenated by lunch, we drove up to the state capitol.  we had never been, but it's pretty much what you would expect from a capitol building.  very capitol-esque.

near the capitol there is a gorgeous little park {memory park}.  just two years ago evan and i went there to take our engagement pictures {where does the time go?!}.  it was so neat to walk around and see the different spots we posed at, and some that we didn't {the meditation chapel--we got a kick out of that!}.  we took some time to sit, read, and journal by the creek running through the park.  it was so peaceful and a great moment to thank God for all he has provided for us over the last two years of our marriage.

we were pooped after that {a lot of sun}, and started our journey home. we had to stop off at ikea though.  i absolutely cannot wait to move into a home that i can completely make my own. wish we were millionaires sometimes... i'd buy things.

it's days like saturday that make me very thankful for my husband.  i know the things that we were doing weren't the most invigorating, but he was such a trooper.  i love how he loves me and could not be more grateful for the time we were able to spend together talking, laughing, praying, and exploring.  i got so lucky with him, and am blessed to be his wifey.  love you evan urbina, thanks for a fantastic, and memorable day! xoxo.

bluebird cafe.

every summer at the sundance resort, they host something called the "bluebird cafe".  it's a casual concert held in an outdoor amphitheater where singer/songwriters come and play acoustic sets of music they have written.  this past friday, evan and i went for the second time {we went last year with my sister and brother-in-law, wish you guys could have been there} and it was an absolute hoot!

my dear friend christy works at sundance and got us half price tickets {thanks again christy}. i cannot begin to tell you what a neat experience this was!  it's so fun to pack up blankets, snacks, and drinks, and hang out with great friends while listening to amazing music {with a ridiculous view!}.  if you ever have a chance to do something like this, i highly recommend it.

stewart falls.

earlier this week we went on a little excursion with our good friends mandi and adam {some of our favorites}.  one of the great things about living in utah is that there is so much to do outdoors!  we took advantage of one of the many popular hikes in the area, stewart falls.  we love this hike because it is do-able {only about 1.5 miles each way}, gorgeous {tucked up in the mountains behind sundance ski resort}, and free {us jobless college grads like cheap fun}.

a little exercise, beautiful scenery, and great friends.  what more could you ask for?

the fourth.

evan and i had a fantastic fourth of july!  we woke up at 5:30 am and headed to the 'freedom festival' where they have a hot air balloon parade every year.  we had never gone before and it was awesome!  after the playing of the nation anthem, the 30 balloons started filling up! it was so colorful and such a blast to see.

i really only took pictures in the morning, but we went a parade with the fox family, worked out at crossfit {hero week death!}, grabbed coffee with some friends, relaxed at home a bit, and headed to a bbq for an evening full of good food and great conversation.

we are extremely thankful to live in a nation that has been so richly blessed by God.  our thoughts, prayers, and thanks go out to the men and women {and their families} who sacrifice their lives for us.  God bless america!

cute as a button.

a few days ago i had blogged about some supplies for a craft.

well, it wasn't so much a craft as much as it was a party. a baby shower for my dear friend krystal {baby girl due in august!} . i was in charge of decorations, which really got my creative juices flowing!

pink and brown were the colors, and the theme was "cute as a button".  the centerpieces i made were mason jars spray painted pink, wrapped with burlap & ribbon, and fastened with hot glue and buttons.  mason jars make for adorable vases and they are pretty cheap. i know that whenever evan and i get into a nicer place where i can paint and decorate a little more, im going to make myself some mason jar vases!

i made the name tags with a paper punch, scrap book paper, bar pins & buttons. it was fast, cheap, and easy! i simply glued the buttons to the scrap book paper cut outs & attached that to bar pins {i got the bar pins at hobby lobby}. for a little extra pizzaz, i made a burlap flower for krystal's name tag!

what would a party be without tissue paper pom poms? i had never made these before and i was surprised how easy it was! i'll put on a tutorial soon {i got mine off of pinterest}, but all you need is tissue paper, wire, and fishing line.

lastly, on the gift table we had a chalk board with a burlap banner on it.  i cut out seven triangle shaped pieces of burlap in alternating colors {didn't even measure them}, and glued them to a piece of twine that was about two inches longer than the board on each side. i added fabric bows on each end to hide where the twine was fastened, and simple wrote in chalk the quote that was on the invitations {cute as a button & sweet as can be}.

 the night was fantastic. it was so fun to help out with decorations, bless krystal, & celebrate the new life that the lord is about to bless the fox family with! congratulations krystal, love ya girl!