New Year's Eve 2015

We went big for NYE '15. We decided we wanted to do something special that we haven't done before, so three weeks in advance, we made reservations for The Roof Restaurant on top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

This place is a total cliche for dating couples, especially during the holidays. It's known as the "engagement spot" where everyone goes to propose to their girlfriends. The night we went, they said they had already had a ton of proposals. I told Brian since we're married now, we could go with no pressure to him. (No pressure meaning if he had proposed in the most cliche location of Utah I may have said no.... Ok probably not but I would have been mad haha). 

So this place totally lived up to it's reputation. It's a fine dining buffet-style, and I think I ate my weight in king crab legs. Brian probably did the same with prime rib, bacon wrapped filet mignon, salmon, and the works. They had a beautiful pianist playing during dinner with an occasional violinist, and at 10 PM (12 PM EST), we had a toast. It cost us two months worth of our monthly "fun money" since it was NYE, but it was 100% worth it.

I'll include some photos of our view overlooking the Salt Lake Temple and us all dressed up spiffy! Happy New Year everyone!

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Recipe: The Best Chili

This is hands down the best chili recipe I've come across. I've made it for two different work parties now (the second as a result of bringing it for the first and demands for me to make it again). I'm definitely keeping this in my recipe books because it's the best! I usually add a lot more chili powder and get the cans of diced tomatoes with hot chilis to spice it up a bit. Enjoy!

From CookingClassy.com, spiced up a bit.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 2 (14.5) oz cans diced tomatoes with hot green chilies
• 3 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water or beef broth
• 3 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Directions

• Heat olive oil in a large and deep non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add onion and saute 3 minutes, then add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Pour onions into a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker. 
• Return skillet to medium-high eat, add beef and cook stirring occasionally until beef has browned. Drain most of fat from beef & add to crockpot.
• Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water or beef broth, chili powder, cumin, paprika, sugar, coriander and season mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Stir mixture, cover with lid and cook on low heat for 5 - 6 hours. (I usually cook it overnight, especially if I'm taking it to a work event. I will then add the beans in the morning and continue to let it simmer until lunch time).
• Stir in dark and light red kidney beans and allow to heat through.

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Recipe: Gingerbread Cheesecake Dip

I made this for our Christmas party and have made it twice since then since Brian loves it so much. It's super yummy and perfect for the holiday season!

From FoodFolksandFun.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 Tablespoons molasses
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• dash nutmeg
• 4 oz Cool Whip (or 1½ cups freshly whipped cream)
• Graham crackers for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Beat the cream cheese until smooth, about 1 minute.
2. Add the sugars and molasses and beat on medium speed until smooth and combined, about 1 minute.
3. Add the ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix until combined.
4. Add the Cool Whip and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
5. Transfer dip to a serving bowl and chill until ready to serve. Serve with graham crackers. Dip can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

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Christmas 2015

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

We had an awesome holiday week! It was so eventful! We got to spend a lot of time with Kevin, Amanda, & the kids which was definitely the highlight of the week! On Christmas Eve, we went to the mall with Kirk and Lindy, Kevin & Amanda, and the kids. One of Jaxton and Khloe's favorite things to do is to convince Grandma Lindy to do her shopping at the mall so they can ride the train that rides around the length of the indoor mall. We all went and Brian and I rode the train through the mall with the kids. Braxton, Corbin, Khloe, and Jaxton all rode in their own car, so Brian and I got to ride with Dylan and Ella. I have some cute photos I'll post.

That evening, Brian and I went to the movies with Kirk and Lindy to see the new movie Daddy's Home, with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. It was really funny, but we were under the impression that the movie was rated PG (actually PG-13), so we were happy we didn't take the kids with us due to the language. It's crazy because I feel like when we were kids, PG-13 movies had little to no swearing, whereas nowadays it's everywhere. (*Insert Brian and I talking about how when WE have kids, they're never seeing that kind of stuff* haha, we already think we know how our parenting styles will be...)

After the movie, Brian and I went home, exchanged Christmas jammies, and headed to bed. We set our alarm for 5 AM, woke up and opened presents, and made it over to Kirk and Lindy's by 6 AM since the kids were already up and opening presents! Being there on Christmas made me excited for when we have our own kids because being around them on Christmas is 1000x better than being a kid on Christmas! We had everything opened, ate breakfast, and then were passed out for nap time by 9 AM. 

Remember how last post I said I couldn't wait to give Brian his presents? Well, aside from some boring gifts like shoes and clothes, his big presents were a new skateboard deck, a goPro, and season night passes for the two of us to go snowboarding! He got me everything I wanted/needed and we were both totally spoiled! I got a new snowboarding jacket and pants, along with snow boots that I desperately needed. I got Jazz game tickets and a free pass and funding for a shopping spree (a personal favorite). Kirk and Lindy got us a new vacuum (which I was SO excited about, which means I really am an adult haha) and a huge, AWESOME paint set and easel that I am STOKED about. Also, Kevin & Amanda got us a Dutch oven! For our wedding, between my bridal shower and the actual wedding, they decked us out in camping gear so they said they decided to stick to the theme! We're so excited for the weather to get a little warmer to use our new tent, sleeping bags, chairs, dutch oven, and cooler! We are all set for some awesome adventures!

It was wonderful to spend the day with family, and the fun continued on Saturday when we had the big Baldwin family party at Uncle Randy & Aunt Thelma's. I love that I married into a huge family since my immediate family isn't huge, but the Baldwin's get together so much and I've really gotten the opportunity to meet and spend time with Brian's family and I adore them! They are all so fun and wonderful. 

That evening, Randy and Sabra came over and we had hot chocolate and played board games. It's great having such awesome friends as family and getting to spend a lot of time with them!

On Sunday, Brian and I were subbing in primary at church. It was my first time ever in primary and it was highly embarrassing not knowing any primary songs, but by the end, it was fun and our class was adorable and so smart! However, that wasn't the most exciting part of the day. That morning, we had had a meeting with the bishop and we both got callings! Finally!! 

I got two actually. I am now a relief society teacher (a calling I had always hoped for), as well as the assistant young women's camp director! I've always wondered what my first callings would be in a family ward and I am SO excited for this! On the weeks that I'm not teaching, I get to go to young women's and get to know the girls better and learn more about what they do! Since I didn't grow up in the church, this is a great opportunity for me to learn about a calling without being fully involved in it.

I'm very excited for these opportunities, but I think the most exciting part is Brian's new calling. He is the new ward mission leader! Which is kind of crazy if you think about it since we just moved into the ward and know almost no one haha. But if anyone can do this, he can. He has the passion and diligence to work hard at this, plus the personality and social skills to talk to anyone about anything. It's one of the things that made me fall in love with him. (:

Flashback to last Tuesday night. Brian and I went to look at a Jeep! We've been talking for awhile about getting a new 4x4 vehicle, and here lately I've had this feeling like it's something we really needed to do, and soon. We both have older cars that are great on gas mileage, but not great in bad weather. Now that we'll be going up into the canyon a bunch to go snowboarding, it was a necessity. After the fiasco that happened with my Elantra back in March, I'm temporarily sworn off dealerships for awhile, so we started looking on KSL with private owners. I've always wanted a Jeep Grand Cherokee and everyone I know that has/has had one absolutely adores them and swears by them. I've been looking for a few weeks now, and when we finally came across one that looked promising, we decided to go take a look at it. It turned out that it was everything we hoped for and we picked it up last night! So Merry late Christmas to me (since I'll be driving it the most), and just in time for the new year!

Brian and I have been so incredibly blessed this year, especially with the house, support from our family and friends during wedding season, and now with our new, safer vehicle. I feel like all the pieces are fitting together perfectly for us and our lives, and I couldn't be more grateful. We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with family and friends!

Uncle Brian and Dylan on the train

Aunt Jessica loves Ella

The big kids in their train car.

 Dylan loves Grandpa.

Uncle Brian and Sophie on Christmas.

On Christmas night, we had a box-burning bonfire in the backyard. 

Corbin, Jaxton, and Khloe loved it.

Uncle Brian and his buddy, Dylan, watching AntMan on Christmas.

Miss Ella

Post-Santa aftermath.

Braxton and Corbin with their new Kindle Fires. 

Santa brought them for them, Jaxton, Khloe, and Dylan.

Our new toy!

Merry Christmas!

Love, the Baldwin's

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It Was the Week Before Christmas...

The last full work week before Christmas was a tough one. It was full of meetings, delivering gift baskets, taking clients to lunch, and Christmas parties, but what made it difficult was the inability to focus on anything other than the fact that Christmas is so close!

Last Sunday, Brian and I went down to Provo after church to see my wonderful cousin, Christy, her husband Matt, and their two girls Maddie and Lucy. We had a wonderful time socializing and making dinner, as well as playing with the girls. They’re getting so big so quickly!

Tuesday night after work, Brian and I got a fattening dinner of Five Guys before going to a session at the temple. It’s always nice to take some time and go to the temple because it’s like escaping from the real world and actually getting your thoughts in line. Brian and I are in the midst of lots of planning for things, so it was nice to have some peace to think in clarity.

Wednesday night, we decided to be kids with Randy and Sabra. Brian went to take his last final after work, then we celebrated by sledding behind the four wheelers. It was a beautiful night and the snow was still coming down, so it was fun to get bundled up and go sledding— big kid style.

Thursday night, Tricia dyed my hair! I went over to the dark side, just in time for Star Wars haha. For those of you that know me well, the only time I can dye my hair dark is the winter time. I’m such a natural blonde that as soon as I walk outside during the summertime, it seems as though I’m platinum blonde after an hour in the sun. I guess I’m ok with that though, blondes really do have more fun. ;)

Friday night as I was leaving work, I passed one of my bosses (the founder of the law firm) on my way out. A few minutes later as I was leaving the parking lot, he called me and asked if Brian and I had any plans for the evening. My plans had consisted of laying around in my pajamas with hot chocolate and Christmas movies, so honestly I did not have plans, so he asked if we wanted 2 tickets to the MoTab Christmas Concert at the Conference Center in Temple Square. Ummm of course we did! The concert featured Laura Osnes, a relatively famous Broadway star, and Martin Jarvis, an old British film and drama actor. It was a great performance, and it was neat for me to be able to take Brian. I got tickets to last year’s event randomly through a ticket lottery so this was my second year, but Brian had never been. Christmas time in Salt Lake City is a disaster, especially with the big City Creek Mall downtown, but it sure is beautiful.

Saturday morning, Brian and I cleaned the house and then went to the Megaplex in Ogden for my company’s client appreciation event! We reserved an entire theater for a showing of Star Wars at noon, and it was awesome! It was fun to see coworkers outside of work and get to meet a lot of clients that I’ve only interacted with over the phone. Plus, the movie was pretty sweet.

Saturday evening, we hosted our first annual Baldwin Christmas Bash! We held dinner at our house first, which was interesting to say the least, then we packed hot chocolate and headed to Salt Lake City again. We walked around downtown and saw the lights on temple square, then went ice skating at the Gallivan Center which was a blast as usual! The city is so beautiful at this time of year and there were lots of street performers playing Christmas tunes which added to the atmosphere. When we got back to our house, we had a gingerbread contest that Kate and I definitely won hands down… It was so fun to hang out with friends we don’t always get to see a lot and enjoy the holiday season!

Sunday at church I taught Relief Society for the first time in our new ward! The lesson came from Ezra Taft Benson’s book, chapter 24, A Christ-Centered Life. It was the perfect lesson for the week before Christmas and we had a lot of great discussion! Sunday night we had dinner at Brian’s parents house, watched some home videos of Brian as a little kid which were hilarious, then went to visit his grandparents and saw a few aunts and uncles. 

We are so excited to have Kevin & Amanda and the kids come in for Christmas this week and celebrate the holiday season! Brian and I are looking forward to spending our first Christmas together in our first home. And I’m dying to give him his Christmas presents because I don’t know how much longer I can wait! I’m sure to win best wife award this year ;)

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1 Month Married

Life has been crazy post honeymoon. We got back and worked three days and then we had off 4 for Thanksgiving break. Our first Thanksgiving was spent in Utah (and Christmas will be as well). 

We woke up on Thanksgiving morning and SURPRISE! White Thanksgiving with the first snow of the season! We made a pumpkin pie to take to Brian’s grandparents house. The two of us, Brian’s parents, his Uncle Mark and Aunt Shar and all their kids all spent Thanksgiving together at Grandma and Grandpa Baldwin’s house. We shot some clay birds with shotguns after dinner and played a few games. It was a great time! 

The next day, Black Friday, Brian and I got the courage to do some shopping (at a sane hour of 10 AM) and surprisingly the stores were pretty empty of shoppers at that point. We got a lot of Christmas shopping done that day and then made our first holiday tradition: getting our Christmas tree and setting it up the day after Thanksgiving!

We went to North Pole Pines in Farr West where you can go and pick out your own tree and cut it down. We picked one out, Brian chopped it down, and we had it set up in our house an hour later! Last year, my grandma in Florida gave me a bunch of ornaments she had saved for me, so we had some beautiful, old ornaments to decorate our tree with mixed with some newer, more generic looking ones. She has saved ornaments and her old antique miniature North Pole village that she used to put up every year and distributed it to myself and all my cousins! We are so lucky to have these treasures and I’m very excited to finally be able to put up my village this year, since we have our home and I’m not in my little old apartment.

That weekend, Brian and his dad built a workbench in the back of our garage for Brian’s tools and it’s already been a great space saver! When my family came out to Utah for our wedding, my stepdad and Brian’s dad cut out and installed a new back door in our garage, so we’re loving that! So many renovations are happening outside now and I’m loving it. I can’t wait to do some landscaping in the spring!

That same Saturday, the 28th, Randy and Sabra and Brian and I went to the Christmas parade and Christmas Village opening and lighting ceremony in Ogden. There are thousands and thousands of Christmas lights and miniature houses that they decorate in a park in Ogden, and they had a Christmas concert and fireworks for the lighting! Afterwards, we cooked dinner at our house and the boys played video games (like usual haha).

Since then, we’ve just been finishing getting ready for Christmas, working hard, and Brian has been finishing his semester of classes and is halfway through his finals. I am so proud of him and how hard he has worked to get incredible grades this semester while renovating our home AND planning the wedding with me. 

Last Friday, Randy, Sabra, Brian and I went to see The Forgotten Carols in Ogden at the Dee Events Center! For those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s a Christmas show/musical that tells the story of a nurse who goes to take care of a man in his home who tells her all these stories and sings her carols from the forgotten characters from the story of the birth of Christ, like the innkeeper, the woman who held Jesus after Mary had him, and others. It was a pretty neat experience!

We put up our outside Christmas lights last week once the last of Thanksgiving’s snow had melted, and just in time because it’s snowing hard again! We woke up this morning and had 4-5 inches and it’s still coming down steadily! It’s supposed to snow constantly through Wednesday night! :) 

Work is busy for both of us, but especially for Brian since he’s the only one in his office that really does healthcare, and since the medicare open enrollment ends soon, he’s been slammed at work and has had to work late most evenings. I’m really happy we’re already married for this part of the year so that even when he does work late and then comes home and starts studying right after dinner, I still get to see him and spend time with him. I feel so blessed to be married to someone who still makes so much time for me with all the other craziness going on in his life!

I think this is the end of my catch-up post, but I’ll include a few photos! I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! :)

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Jamaica, Mon.

Not to brag, but our wedding and honeymoon were the best. 

Of course I’m biased, but oh well.

We left SLC for Montego Bay, Jamaica on Sunday and were laying on a beach outside our resort around noon on Monday. We stayed at the all-inclusive Sunset Beach Resort and Spa which was on a small peninsula next to all the mainstream Secrets Resorts. Our hotel was beautiful, with a waterpark and an open lobby that stretched out to the many pools and private beaches. Most of Monday was spent sprawled on the beach, beside the pool, or exploring. That evening, we went through the main restaurant buffet and ate lots of yummy food, both American and native (which was so much better). We ate so much Jerk Chicken on this trip, I can’t even tell you. But I miss it, it was amazing. That evening, there was karaoke and fireworks.

Fun facts learned this day: Jamaica doesn’t have any poisonous snakes. They drive on the left side of the road because they use to be ruled by the British. Children attend mandatory school through grade 11 and must wear uniforms, those able to afford college afterwards go to a university or trade school. Their prime minister is a woman.

Tip: DO NOT EXCHANGE YOUR AMERICAN MONEY FOR JAMAICAN MONEY. Everywhere takes American money and it’s harder to judge how much American money you’re spending when tipping those constant “helpers" looking for tips.

Tuesday: We got touristy and did our first excursion, the most popular Jamaican attraction, Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios (which means 8 rivers). We got up early, ate breakfast, then met our tour shuttle booked through AmStar to start the journey to Ocho Rios. We had an awesome tour guide on the bus named Maxine who talked all about the landmarks, history, and Bob Marley. Apparently the Rockefellers and Johnny Cash put a lot of money into the Jamaican real estate industry back in the day and both families own large estates there. 

When we got to Ocho Rios, we stopped in town to look through some local shops and let people buy water shoes for the hike up the falls. At the falls, you walk down a long deck from the top of the falls to the bottom and end up on a beach by the ocean. From the beach, you hike back up the falls through the water up to the top. Our tour guide was super funny and there were multiple stops where they made us dip in the falls or trust fall backwards into the deep water. It was a blast!

When we got back to the  resort late-afternoon, we grabbed lunch at another resort restaurant called the Beach Grill which had amazing grilled jerk chicken and cheese fries (which became my staple lunch menu for the week) and took a nap by the pool. For dinner we went through the main buffet again… I don’t remember what exotic things we ate but I know I had more jerk pork and it was deeeeelish. After dinner we took a walk on the beach and watched an authentic steel drum show for the night’s entertainment.

More fun facts: Dolphins can sense when a woman is pregnant 2 weeks before modern technology (don’t worry, I didn’t discover this personally haha). Jamaica sees between 7-10 cruise ships a week. Tourism is their main source of revenue. China pays for a lot of roads to be built and in return, Jamaicans buy cars from them. Buildings can take 10-15 years to complete because they only build what they have funds for (America should take notes). Credit cards can have a 50% interest rate and banks charge 20-30%, so people don’t ever use them and live strictly within their means.

Wednesday: THE SECOND BEST DAY EVER. Wednesday morning we got up and went to the beach after breakfast for a few hours, then right before lunch, we headed out on another shuttle to go to Negril to swim with DOLPHINS!! On the way there, our driver hit a goat! There were herds of about 50 wild goats that wander all over the rustic parts of the island, and this herd was totally unavoidable as we barreled around a corner and they were all over the road. Anyway… We went to Dolphin Cove Negril, part of the largest Dolphin Encounter program in the entire Caribbean. We were put in small groups of about 8 people that shared a dolphin to touch, swim with, dance with, kiss, and play with. Our dolphin’s name was Wendy! She was a 9 year old bottlenose dolphin from Cuba! The best part by far was riding on her belly. We swam out into the middle of the cove which was a part of the ocean that has netting to keep the dolphins inside the big cove, and we just floated there with our arms straight out in front of us. Wendy would swim out to us and pop up in front of us. We would then reach out and put our hands on her flippers and she would lean and swim backwards while we rested on her belly and skimmed across the water! It was so much fun! I was so surprised at how smart she was and how many commands she understood! After swimming with Wendy, we watched some of the local trainers get into another roped off section of the cove with a shark. People could sit on the deck, hold the shark in their laps, take photos with, and feed the sharks. While it looked intriguing, it was also terrifying and we passed. We did go into a third section of the cove and play with a stingray named Renee. We got to pet her and hold her and feel her barbed back. It was such a cool experience! At one point, the stingray started getting upset being passed around to so many people and began to splash around. Her trainer took her back and lifted her up so she could see it was him and she immediately calmed down! I couldn’t believe it, it was like the stingray was trained too! That evening, we went back to the resort, got cleaned up, and went to dinner at this nice restaurant called La Bella Vita Restaurant and I ate snapping turtle for dinner! It was DELICIOUS! It was light, white, and flaky like fish, but it had a great flavor and didn’t taste fishy at all! Later that night we sat on the beach and watched floating lanterns being set off from the resort next door, then went to a show with authentic Jamaican dancers that can dance faster than I had ever seen. It was an awesome day!

Thursday was our last full day on the island, so it was well spent kayaking on the ocean, lounging by the pool and in the lazy river, with lots of jerk chicken and cheese fries, and multiple trips down the water slides. Friday we had smooth flights back, successfully navigated the monster that is Dallas-Fort Worth airport, and made it home in time to go see the new Hunger Games movie with Jessica Fox and friends for her birthday! I am so glad we went somewhere like Jamaica and stayed at a nice resort with more of an authentic feel. Being in Jamaica really helped us realize how fortunate we are for all our luxuries in the U.S. I will greatly miss the friendly people of Jamaica and all the yummy food, but we’ve already decided where we want to stay when we come back for a future anniversary! ;)

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