My Favorite Houseplant

That subject is misleading, because the answer is ALL OF THEM!

Before I started buying plants like a crazy person, I googled them all. And then pinterest started showing me so many articles about the easiest house plants to maintain, and I read those too. And now I feel pretty confident when it comes to house plants.* Outside stuff still intimidates me. 

*All those articles say english ivy, and I had a couple, and they BOTH died. So I stay away from those, and call those people who say they're so easy liars!

^^I have more pothos plants than anything else. They grow so easily and I love the cascading leaves!^^

^^the snake plant is probably the easiest! I saw them down in the underground hallways of the SLC temple a few weeks ago, where they don't even get any natural sunlight!^^

I wouldn't claim to be the know-it-all plant person, but I do think the most important aspect of plant care is light. Thankfully, my house gets a lot of natural light, so the plants have been able to thrive. 

Having so many plants in the house now is such a joy to me. I believe those articles that say they bring a good energy to the house, not to mention the health benefits of purifying the air. I'm fully addicted.

I just read something lovely on a home design blog that was talking about houseplants, and that when you treat them like a fashion accessory, they rarely thrive, but treat them like a friend, and you will have lifelong companions. And I finally get it. I really do look at these plants as my friends/pets, and I see them thriving, unlike before, where I have killed my fair share of plants RIP.
It sounds crazy, but it's true. I love my plants.

Utah Summer 2018

 Ahhhhh summer! It's always so great in Utah, although I took Utah Summer for granted until I lived in Monterey where it's cold in the summer! And they don't have fireworks for the 4th of July! So that's when I instituted Utah Summer. And my boys love it.

After I got back from DC, I took the boys up to Cache Valley to stock up on my favorite skincare, and the drive was so beautiful and green!  I stopped at the Box Elder campground to catch the tail end of these gorgeous poppies. I've trained J well, because I was ready to go and he said "I'm not ready to leave! I like running in the flowers!"

 A few days later was one of the reasons for our Utah trip: my cousin Klarisa got married and J was the ring bearer. I was so worried he wouldn't cooperate but some bribery worked wonders. His cousin Laila was the flower girl and they sure were adorable!

The other event we went for was welcoming my baby brother home from his 2 year mission in Colombia! They've all grown a lot

The rest of Utah Summer was filled with all the other great Utah Summer things: playdates with friends, summer Sunday dinners, yummy treats, hikes, baseball games, and the boys favorite: Cherry Hill. 

^^Dom's look at my grandpa kills me!^^

 

 ^^also visited this special lady^^

 Until next Summer!

My J Says (and some favorite pics of his 3rd year)

Ok ok I definitely had a hard time narrowing down these photos I just can't help myself! I think 3 was a good year for our J!

And here are some favorite little things he has said lately :)

 "Oww my mustache is hurting!"

 "J, I love you to the moon"
"I love you far away all the way where Jesus lives!"
(he says that lot and I love it haha)

 "Well I'm the boss so I'm grumpy."

"I need water I'm drinky!"

 ^^he loves babies and it's the sweetest!^^

 "Mommy, say thank you to me for being-haive"

"No, Dominic, we don't have to be quiet we not in church!"

"We haven't gone to Home Depot in a while...so we should go to Home Depot."
(definitely went to home depot that day ;)

 "What are you doing, J?"
"Just calling Jesus."

"No, the consequence is over!!"
(if only we could choose when the consequence is over haha)

"I got you a present Dominic, some chasing glasses!"
(aka the transformers glasses they wear to chase each other around the house)

 ^^he has an obsession with maps. i love it^^

"Mommy do you know why I like drinking syrup? Because it smells like dessert!"

Love you so much, J!  

Traditional Things I Love: Stationery and Business Cards

I was reading an article online the other day about military traditions that we don't want to die, and it was really interesting, and some were things that apply not just in the "military world"---namely things regarding stationery. I LOVE stationery. I love seeing different designs from different people which I think reflects different personalities. And I just love getting actual mail that isn't junk! I just got a birth announcement in the mail and even though I already knew about the birth from social media, I still loved receiving it!

So anyway, some of those stationery things that the article mentioned were Christmas cards, and business cards aka "calling cards." With phones and social media, business cards are one of those things that are becoming more rare, but personally I still think they're great, because when someone gives one to me, it serves as an actual reminder to look up whatever the card is for when I get home.

In the military world, the business card also serves as a "calling card" aka an information card for others. I first was introduced to this on our overseas tour in Okinawa, and it was extremely helpful when you are meeting a lot of new people pretty regularly. Whenever someone gave me one of their cards, I always thought "I really need one of these for myself to make it easy on other people as well!"

So I finally did!

I went with Basic Invite, a local company based out of St. George. They have so many adorable designs, and what was really cool about them is that all their designs are completely customizable with sooooo many color options. And that's for all of their stationery, not just business cards.

^^there's even more colors on the other side^^

^^Love that they print the pretty design on the back too^^

So yeah, even though I don't have a business per se, I like having my little info cards. And now I'm really looking forward to Christmas card time aka one of my favorite times of year! In addition to the color customizing with the cards and envelopes, Basic Invite also offers an address capturing service (a link for your social media where people can input their addresses. MUCH needed for me since lots of my friends and myself included are regularly getting new addresses) and also address printing for free with orders YES!

(Also they ship to FPO/APO addresses for any friends of mine still living overseas :) AND they are currently offering 15% off with the code 15FF51.

Long live stationery. Emails, e-cards, and e-invites are convenient sometimes, but they never can replace the feel and thoughtfulness of real cards. I hope they never die!



Check out Basic Invite's business card info and templates by clicking here or here. And thanks to them for sponsoring this post!