Easy Halloween Costumes for Couples

I know, Halloween is on Monday and I should have planned better but, maybe you're a last minute Halloween costume do-er so this works? I don't know. But here it is anyway. I see all these cute costumes on Pinterest and I think, hmm could I really pull that off as a married student? The only reason we dress up is for our annual trunk-or-treat at church. Connor and I like it though and I feel like we'll be dressing up even when we start having kids.

Last year we did a pretty easy costume.

Connor wore camo and I found this great deer jacket from DI ($6) I wore black skinny jeans and boots. The ears I made out of an old headband bought some felt from Hobby Lobby ($2) The makeup was $5 at Halloween City coming to a grand total of $13 for our costume. This is becoming a pretty popular costume around here but I think it's still pretty cute. 

This year we went as a cow and dairy farmer. 

I spray painted a long sleeve white shirt from Joann's (paint=$5, shirt = $6) and then with my free shipping through Amazon student prime, I bought the ears and the tail for $6. I'm sure they could be made as well but I didn't feel like being creative. My face paint I had from last year still so that worked out nicely. Connor wore a plaid shirt, straw hat, and muck boots, which he already owned. The costume was $17, so a little bit more than last year. I'm sure that if you wanted to use a Sharpie and find a white shirt at DI that could work too!

Here's a great list of other Halloween costumes from the Dating Divas for couples that I wanted to share: 

http://www.thedatingdivas.com/last-minute-halloween-costumes/

Happy Halloween! 

-The Reeds

It's NOVEMBER? (October 30-November 6)

Where has October gone?? That's what I want to know.

Confession time. This week has not been my week. I have felt the beginnings of a cold coming on and with mid-terms and other stress, I did not want to cook. The very thought of doing anything in fact made me hurt. I've also been having some weird back pains that make it hard to stand or sit. The only thing that feels comfortable is lying flat. Strange! But my confession is I hardly cooked the meals I said I would. Which is a positive thing because it meant I had things to carry over, but a negative thing for poor Connor. He was such a help though so I didn't complain.

M-Grilled pork chops and asparagus
T-Shrimp and pasta
W-Campbells chicken noodle soup and bread
R-baked potatoes (We still have 49 lbs of potatoes in storage)
F-Chicken breasts and sweet potatoes
S-NO IDEA! I'll see what sounds good when I go grocery shopping.
Sunday-Probably the Reed's.

Groceries: $40
bananas
sweet potatoes
chicken breasts
lunch meat
shredded cheese
more pumpkin spice bagels
pumpkin
pumpkin spice seasoning
corn syrup
cream
Mtn Dew-Connor
mac'n'cheese

I'll be making some pumpkin pie bars that I'm SUPER excited about for tomorrow. Follow me on Instagram and watch my story for yummy details!

Shoes

I absolutely love my husband so much. He sent me the following picture from work today with the caption: "I think it's time for new shoes."

The image of his socks poking through his shoes brought tears to my eyes.

This picture, of his sock sticking out of his shoe, summed up how amazing my husband is and why I fell in love with him in the first place. My husband is a hard worker, he knows how to sacrifice. He doesn't care about the things of the world and doesn't let hard times stop him from doing his work.

 He and I have been having a rough patch in our marriage. We're kind of moving past the honeymoon phase and into just, well... life. We are learning more about how to serve and love each other and we know these trials will bring us closer. That picture, of his poor sneakers reduced to sandals reminded me of my admiration and love for him. To work your shoes to that amount of damage must not have been easy. I don't think women EVER work their shoes to shreds (kudos to you if you have). It gave me a new appreciation, respect, and love for Connor.

My husband and I are united in Christ. We may not always be on top of prayers or reading scriptures or even going to the temple. But we talk every night, we take the sacrament, and we are learning to sacrifice for each other. His shoes, torn and tattered, I'm sure can be compared to what Christ's looked like after years and years of serving the people around him.

Connor is my hero. And don't worry, I plan on buying him new shoes tomorrow.

Halloween Weekend (Oct. 24-30)

Anybody else REALLY looking forward to holiday foods? I know I am. This week I not only listened to Christmas music at work, but I began planning Christmas gifts and decor for our tiny abode. Trust me, they'll all be married student budget friendly.

We have an interesting week coming up. Connor has a new calling in the Young Men's leaving me alone on Wednesday's needing a quick dinner idea. Also, temple night is Tuesday, Monday is FHE, Thursday is Institute, Friday is date night, and Saturday is our ward Halloween party. Phew. Are you tired? Cuz I am and it's only Monday.


Tonight for dinner I had leftover potato and sausage in the Crock-pot so I grabbed some bread-sticks from the store and called it good. We're hoping to go to the pumpkin walk tonight (fingers crossed) but a dark cloud seems to be coming in. Who knows?

Menu:
M-Crock-pot potato and sausage
T-Papa Murphy's Pizza
W-Glazed pork chops and asparagus
R-Baked potatoes
F- Date night! (Thanks to my wonderful bosses)
S-Ward Party (Chili)
S-Dinner with the Straatman's

Groceries: $40
bananas
asparagus
lettuce
pumpkin bagels (I don't normally hop on the pumpkin bagel band wagon but MAN these are good)
cream cheese
shredded cheese
frozen pizza (on sale 5/$5)
bread-sticks
milk
hot chocolate
fruit snacks (yes I'm going to be THAT mom)
croutons

Let the holidays begin!

Yarn Pumpkin Garland

I mentioned in our Anniversary post that I had made some cute yarn pumpkins. They turned out so cute! This craft comes from the blog Honest to Nod and the original can be found here.

When my friend Lexi and I made them, they didn't turn as round as her's but still freaking adorable.  . Go ahead and follow the instructions here but don't be discourage if they aren't perfectly round. We concluded that practice makes perfect pumpkins. They turned out adorable regardless of not being perfect.

And it looks very cute on bookshelves, tables, or mantles.

All the supplies cost me $5 so it wasn't expensive at all.

This is what Lexi's looked liked hanging in her house. 

It was a super cheap yet cute fall craft to use in decorating your home.

Sales (Oct. 17-Oct. 21)

I love when meat is on sale. Very rarely do I buy steak but this week I had a $2 off coupon. So here's the layout:

M-Broccoli soup
T-Steak with baked sweet potatoes
W-Mexican pizza
R-Crockpot potatoes and sausage
F-Pork chops with apples

Groceries: $40.00
onions
sweet potatoes
thyme
steak
ground beef
sausage
Mexican cheese
canned tomatoes
re-fried beans
milk
cream
eggnog
mushroom soup
Doritos

Sorry, not a lot of commentary this week. Lots of homework. You know. College life.

Happy Anniversary to Us

This has been one of those weeks that make you want to run away and live out your days as a hobo. School pressure, work projects, just the busyness of life was wearing me down. On Thursday I texted my husband saying "Can we have an adventure soon? You know, like a sporadic moment?" The previous week I had also expressed to him my desire for a vacation. There's something about leaving Logan and staying in hotel that is so relaxing to me. I love hotels. When I'm at a hotel, I don't worry about cleaning or being lazy because they signify relaxation and vacation.

And boy did I need that.

My Apologies (Oct. 10-16)

GUYS! 

I'm so sorry! I totally forgot to post the menu and grocery list. This week has been crazy and a little overwhelming at the Reed home. Connor's been staying late at work and I've had oodles of homework. Sounds like quite the married student life right?

M-Enchiladas (recipe from My Litter)

T-Grilled pork chops and creamed peas and potatoes. I'm working on the "perfect marinade" so bear with me. 

W-Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo 

R- Leftover night

F-Broccoli Cheese soup

Saturday is our Anniversary so we'll be celebrating at our favorite restaurant: Hut Hot.

Sun- Reeds

Groceries:

Mexican cheese

Chicken Broth

Cream

Chicken breasts ($1 off!)

Pork chops

Fettuccine noodles

Milk

Parsley

Bananas 

Broccoli crown

Carrots

Tortillas

Canned green chilies

I had to buy laundry detergent and a few other things for my mom so the total ended up being $54. A little more than I like to spend but that's ok. Having a grocery budget is important, but you need to be flexible and allow yourself to fluctuate from time to time. 

Sorry I've been a slacker this week. Definitely could use some extra prayers. 

Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Personally, I don't like baking. But this recipe from Kirbie Craving's (original post here) was to die for! My muffins didn't turn out nearly as pretty as her's but they tasted just the same:

Ingredients:

muffin base:

• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar 
• 1 large egg 
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 
• 2 tsp baking power 
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil 
• 3/4 cup fat free milk 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

cinnamon swirl

• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 3 tbsp butter, melted and hot 

vanilla glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar 
• 1/4 tsp vanilla 
• 1-2 tbsp milk 

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a regular muffin tin with cupcake liners (12 total).
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and egg until combined. Add in remaining muffin base ingredients and whisk until batter is smooth.
Fill each muffin cup about 1/2 full. You will have leftover batter which you will add later
In a small bowl, mix hot melted butter, cinnamon and brown sugar. The mixture should have the consistency of a thick liquid. Add a small dollop of mixture into each muffin cup (about 1/2 tsp each) and swirl it a few times into the batter with a fork, careful not to let it completely mix. You want the cinnamon sugar mixture to remain as swirls in the batter. You should only use less than 1/2 of your cinnamon sugar mixture for this step, reserving the rest for later. Add remaining muffin batter to muffin cups, covering the swirled mixture. Each muffin tin should be about 2/3 full and you should have enough batter for 12 muffins.
At this point, your cinnamon swirl mixture is likely getting a little more solid. If this is the case, heat it in the microwave for a few seconds, so it becomes very fluid again. Add mixture into something with a narrow spout to pour out of, like a syrup dispenser, a beaker, or a small liquid measuring cup. You want something that will control the flow and pour just a thin line of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Make a cinnamon spiral on top of each muffin (like in photo). If your mixture gets too thick, you can always reheat it again for easy pouring.
Bake for about 20 minutes until muffins are puffy and knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let muffins cool in baking pan.
While muffins are cooling, make the glaze. In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 tbsp milk. Whisk until smooth. If glaze is too thick, add a little more milk, careful to not add too much at once. Once your glaze reaches the consistency you desire, drizzle on top of muffins. Serve once glaze is set.













DELISH!

My Kitchen

I truly have a tiny kitchen. People who live in those small houses and think they're cool, I don't see the appeal. I decided to just take a few quick pictures this afternoon to show you guys the area that I cook in and maybe get sympathy for why my food photos are also so horrible.

Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps

I have been wanting something along these lines for quite some time now. I found a few recipes that looked good and sorta combined them to make this one! My sister Whitney, fresh home from working in Alaska all summer, came and helped me out.

Serves 3-4 people. Takes about 30 minutes top (not including brown rice)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 minced gloves of garlic
• 1 TB sesame oil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 3 TB brown sugar
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup matchstick carrots
• bunch of green onions
• brown rice
• butter-crunch lettuce

 Brown the beef and garlic. Reduce heat and drain fat.
Add sesame oil, chili powder, brown sugar, ginger, and soy sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add in carrots and green onion. Turn off heat. Cover and let sit for 3-5 minutes.
Roll in lettuce with rice if desired.

I loved it! Whitney had to put ranch on it and ended up dumping it everywhere. I liked the wraps without lettuce, personally, but Whitney liked it with the brown rice. This recipe was fast, easy, and cheap. It also was low-carb which is always a bonus.

Browning the beef

Aren't we just so cute?

Added everything together! Whitney says we should have added more ginger here but I disagree. 

 The finished meal with pot-stickers and sweet&sour sauce. 

Aaaaaannnndddd......Whitney's ranch fail. 

Super yummy!

Cold Weather (Oct. 3-9)

It's gotten so cold around here, we almost turned on the heater .But we are trying to hold out as long as possible with blankets and socks and lots of cuddling. Don't worry we aren't freezing, just trying to save money where we can.

I've been CRAVING a few comfort foods this week:

M-Olive Garden Gnocchi soup and bread sticks--I was going to attempt to make it but got too lazy so we ordered take-out.
T-Connor will be all alone this night as I have a work project in Davis County that night.
W-Asian Lettuce Wraps. SUPER excited about these as I'm kinda making it up
R-Crock pot pulled pork
F-Red potatoes and creamed peas
S-Emily's birthday!
S-Reed's

Groceries: $29--What a STEAL!
onion
lettuce
oranges
bananas
pork roast
ground beef
tortillas
buns
granola-I love when the Sunbelt kind goes on sale!!
sesame oil
milk
Dr. Pepper


Can't wait to try a new recipe this week!!

Don't Judge M&M's

I helped my mom plan her "Speed Friend-shipping" Relief Society activity this week. We came up with this awesome quote to attach the bags of M&M's:

I love this quote because honestly, we all love M&M's and the chocolate happiness they bring us.