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.

Finally decorated my master bedroom! And a few other areas of my house...

Our master bedroom has vaulted ceilings so I really didn't know how to decorate above the bed so pictures or mirrors or whatever didn't get dwarfed by this big wall. After a couple months living here I saw a few ideas on pinterest and from Joanna Gaines to put a wall to wall shelf. But I didn't want it to be a knick knack shelf. I had seen on pinterest to decorate with plants. It looked so classic and relaxing! Our room has a balcony with a big glass door so it gets pretty good natural light so I finally decided to go for it! I don't have a before, but you can imagine. 

And the after!

Victor and I built this shelf. When all is said and done it was pretty easy. But in the moment trying to find wood, measure and hang up correctly etc., it feels like a pain. My friend Mickelle helped up hang it, because it is sooo long--almost 13 feet! I bought the plants after it was hung, and noticed an immediate difference in the room. I love love love it. 

My favorite part of the room is the view: our backyard is big and has a hill of trees on a back hill, so I can pull the curtains back and not worry about people looking right down into my room. That's the number one reason why we wanted this house.

Over the last few months, I have slowly but surely been decorating and it is pretty much done. A few of my favorite spaces:

The little kitchen nook with my plate wall.

 The front living room:

 The family room:

And the boys room. Love their colorful happy room. And I love that they love spending time playing in here. In our cottage, their room was in the back and secluded so they never naturally went in there.

You can see my dining room in the post I did here.

Anyway, there you go. Making a house a home is one of my favorite hobbies.

I Made A Table!

Alternate subject line: I helped my friend's husband build me this table. If we are being accurate. This has been something I've wanted to try and do, and he was like "then do it! when are you going to do it?" He even came to Home Depot with me to pick out everything--that just shows how clueless both Victor and I are when it comes to these things ha. So thanks again, Keyla and Geoff for your help!

This table was definitely a learning experience. It's not perfect, and it is not a "forever" table. Pretty sure it will get its wear and tear. But it was a fun learning experience, and for the time being, it's nice to have a farmhouse table that only cost about $150 total. But if I were to invest in all the stuff you need to make a table, that would up the cost a tonnnnn. I can't believe all the types of saws and stuff you need. 

Progress shots

 I loved how the wood looked all sanded down. I didn't want to stain it! 

  But I'm happy with it. And I'm so happy to have a designated dining room! I love having a real space to have people over for dinner. I hardly hosted people in our tiny cottage because it was just so small to. Now that we are getting settled, I hope to change that.

"Welcome to the World" Baby Shower for Brooke

I am grateful for time to spend in Utah so we can plan get togethers like this. My good friend Brooke (and next door neighbor growing up) is having her first baby! She had baby Hudson a couple weeks ago. So back in July, Me, Kelsy and my sister Jennifer hosted a shower for her. I always love putting together these things and it was fun doing it with Jenn and Kelsy. Once the shower started, I got no pictures which I'm so bummed about! I guess that means we were all having too good a time to remember. But Jenn got the one pic below of Brooke getting some food. 

Brooke and Roman like to travel, and their adorable nursery is airplane/exploring inspired, so I loved doing this cute theme for the shower. It's so fun and easy to decorate for. I just used maps around the house and borrowed some globes from my sisters. I made the map buntings from those free AAA Road maps. And I found that awesome vintage suitcase from the D.I. 

^^Jenn made the super cute clouds and airplane mobiles^^

^^My other neighbor growing up now is an awesome cookie designer and did these for us. Love^^

 ^^And Kelsy did the adorable favors^^

Congrats on your beautiful boy, Brooke and Roman!

We Bought a House

Still feels a little surreal, but it's true! My husband has been itching to be a property owner, but with our military moves, it hasn't been too easy. So he we decided to buy one in ST. GEORGE, Utah! I say "we" because it's been hard for me to be on board with buying a nice new house I don't even get to live in, but when I get over that, it actually is a dream come true to have a place in an area we love so much.

We are currently renting it out as a vacation rental because it is great proximity to the city and Zion National Park, and so far it's been doing pretty good! We negotiated in the price to keep all the furniture so we could immediately let people stay in it. But a couple weeks ago, we went to visit, and update the decor. I didn't like the previous decor or the bedding, so we changed that out to make it more fresh and fun. 

^^Front entry area^^

^^backyard^^

 

^^the entryway tile reminds me of Flip or Flop haha^^

^^the living room is a great size. the back is a nice office workspace area^^

^^I had a lot of fun getting these vintage posters that are the same as the ones at my grandparents cabin. I used this tutorial to give them that vintage look!^^

Bedroom number one:

 Decor from HomeGoods
Bedroom number two, more decor from HomeGoods and Hobby Lobby!

There is a bathroom for those rooms, and then next to that there is a nice big laundry room...

That leads into a nice big master closet...

That leads into a nice big master bathroom that I forgot to take pictures of...that leads into the master bedroom!

 I really hope we can return soon. And if you want to stay there let me know! ;)