Mother's Day 2014

So much happened around Mother's Day, it was kinda intense!

The prep right before was my website launch. Which I officially opened on Mother's Day and had a fantastic opener week ps! Nothing gives me more joy than to create, especially creating something that will be loved and worn and shown off. 

Micah spoiled me oh-so much. He got me a beautiful succulent plant for our kitchen table, a massage to Massage Envy, and a few less-romantic items like camping lights, a hanging rack for our laundry room & hooks for our mud room. 

That day Micah took care of Olive in every sense and didn't let me change her diaper once. We typically have about a 50/50 split on who changes her, feeds her etc. when he isn't working, so it was a pleasant surprise to not have to do any of that. Although, I weirdly missed not doing those menial things with her.

I am obsessed with my daughter.  :O

We headed up to Midway again for dinner at the Russell cabin. 

Livi was sporting some new creations

What's dinner without some group selfies as my niece Cat said we needed...

I'm so lucky to be blessed with this in-law family. My nieces and nephews are so much fun and so ready to love and invite you into their lives, it's contagious. I love their honesty and their unabashed excitement over things and just their eagerness to try new things or do something silly. I wish I could bottle up their excitement!

xoxo

Mandi

4th Anniversary & Anti Fun Rut

Man, 4 years have somehow flown by since I married my sweetheart! During that time we had 6 bunnies, Micah graduated college, I temporarily gave up on college, became doggy parents, we built our first house, had our first baby, and I started a business! I love growing up with Micah and getting to know who we are and having the other person to really support one another in every life venture. 

We alternate our anniversary planning so that one person (ie Micah) isn't always in charge of the surprise. It's not just my celebration after all.. He was just as much involved in our wedding haha. So he has the odd years and I have the even ones. And yes, your math is correct, this year was my year. 

Our anniversary was also an Anti Fun Rut date because.... We left Olive with my parents.... OVERNIGHT!

I kind of had a mini panic attack before I dropped her off to my parents... And by kind of I mean I cried in the car once I left!  :(  in the last 10 months aka her entire existence, I've never been without her. She hasn't slept in my bed or anything, but has always been a door away. 

My sister was also taking care of Zoey for me, so I was really missing my girls . :( 

Once I contained my sad homesickness, I picked Micah up from the car rental agency (he had just gotten back from a business trip) and headed up to Park City. 

But first, Micah gave me this gorgeous bouquet. 

He has the best taste in flowers. 

Our first stop was Ruth's Chris. We have eaten there for all of our anniversary dinners so far (strange to think about since it has never been a set thing) and they decorated our table in honor of our anniversary. 

I'm going to spam you with my delicious meal. 

Amaze balls iceberg wedge salad

Baked cauliflower & garlic mashed potatoes -- incredible cauliflower business

My filet mignon that I always get butterflied open... Omg I'm hungry now!

Our surprise free dessert -- freaking fantastic cheesecake. Seriously so yummmz!

We took some glorious selfies... which Micah can't stand when I try to take some pics of us..

After dinner I texted my dad to see how Liv was doing... Because I missed her so much! I got back a hilarious text:

BM means poop to my dad. Industrial strength poop, hahahahaa

Our last pic before we left. We had to be wheel chaired out because we were so stuffed full of amazing-ness. 

K not really, but I felt like I could go hibernate for several years after. 

I then took us up to Midway, to stay at the Homestead. I found a groupon that had a fantastic deal for the night. We went hot tubbing right away and it felt amazing. Delish steak belly + hot tub face = best night ever!  ;P

Our super cute little cottage house that we stayed the night in. 

The following morning we slept in, drove to my parents house (who made us waffles ps) and got to finally snuggle this little sweet thing. 

It's amazing how much my heart can love someone. I would be completely lost without Micah.. my partner in crime, fellow adventure seeker, lazy Sunday napper, sweet surprise maker, and most loving father and husband ever. As well as Olive, that sweet little birdie with big blue eyes and adorable dimples that has me wrapped around her little nail-painted fingers. And lastly my goofy big-tongued running partner Zoey, who runs and wiggles her butt at the sight of me like she can't contain how happy she is to see me every single day. How could I not love my life with these amazing people around me? And yes, Zoey is a person in my eyes. 

xoxo

Mandi

My sister's baby showers

So excited for Jess!

She is due on June 29th, coming up way fast. 

For those who don't know, my sister was pregnant with twins, a boy and girl, but lost her son halfway through her pregnancy. It was so incredibly hard to watch her go through her second miscarriage and be helpless to do anything to ease her pain. I felt so so sad that I couldn't offer even the sentiment "I know how you feel" because I never experienced the aching sadness of miscarriage. My pregnancy with Olive was easy, despite hip pain, I had no complications.  Jess and Dan had lost their first baby when she was only 7 weeks along, which was incredibly hard after having tried to get pregnant for almost 5 years. She then got pregnant again, this time with twins, but then lost her son when she was 20 weeks along. It was even harder knowing that she was having a boy and girl, naming both of them, and then losing their son. His name was Croix Daniel Horman and he was just too perfect of a little boy, he was needed in heaven more than on earth. 

Her showers were so fun to go and celebrate for Capri's arrival, but they were all tinged with my own sadness for not being able to buy double the onesies and diapers, and to not be buying anything boy related. Jess and her soon to be little miss were given lots of fun things though and the outpouring of support and love was just awesome. 

I went to a super cute and fun shower for her, thrown by her friend Michelle. Loved everything about it.. the decorations, her darling house, the food, games.. Love!

For the shower my mom and I threw Jess, we kept it simple and did a dinner at Archibald's in Gardner Village. Before the shower though, I took some maternity pics of her so we could put them in frames to decorate the tables. 

Her cute puppies Duke on the left and Brutus on he right

My model sis 

I made that lovely flower sash!

Cutest little glitter shoes ever!

Belly button! 

For my sister's invite, I used my friend Tori's etsy account, SweetBeeDesignShoppe. Check her out, she was soooo fast and customized the whole thing to my liking. 

Dinner was fabulous, the company was the best, and the gifts were darling. She was definitely showered in love and Capri will be spoiled with her outfits and baby gear. 

xoxo

Mandi

Easter

Happy Easter! 

I love this holiday. It's my favorite time of year, always have a happy get together with family, and it is a wonderful reminder of the reason for celebrating new life and hope. 

My parents bought Olive 2 Easter dresses that I just *had* to make a matchy matchy headband for! Love how it turned out. 

That Sunday was an exhausting one haha!

We snagged a quick family pic after church before we headed up to dinner with the Russell's. 

 

This family get together was at my sister in law Ali's house in Midway. Love it up there. Livi got to experience her first swing... And she had sooo much fun!!

After dinner we had an egg hunt!

Then a RZR ride with the cousins!

Liv really liked the RZR at first but then got really sad at the end & wanted to be done! I couldn't stop laughing at her expression... Mean mom!

Little birdie was exhausted afterwards so we packed up and headed home. It was so good to see the whole family again & to take a little moment to think of Christ and His sacrifice for us. On Instagram & Facebook a ton of people started tagging #becauseofhim with gratitude posts or things they are blessed with. I love that social media is becoming a means to spread the word of god and the modern day knowledge that we have. 

xoxo

Mandi

Project: Pillows!

It has been a very long time since I got into project mode... Spring is here and apparently that's when the project bug really bites! 

So one of my gifts for my birthday was from my awesome mother in law, and she gave me this grey comforter and pillow shams for our king bed. Love it!

But that's a "grown up" bedspread now and I need to have pillows on my bed other than the ones Micah and I actually use. 

So hunting I went! Each pillow individually was $20 for the cheapest, ranging up to $35-$40 per pillow! No thanks!

Of course my next step was Pinterest. I found this amazing DIY that seriously was SO easy! I really wanted a pillow case that had a zipper so I could toss them into the wash really easily. 

The pillows were so easy that I literally made 10 pillows in a day. So easy! Some projects I take on aren't worth all the effort I put into them, but these were so fast that you really don't need much sewing experience or time. Totes worth it. 

I bought my pillow inserts from Walmart and Hobby Lobby (of course!) although Hobby Lobby had the cheaper ones. If I wasn't being impatient I'm sure I could've found better prices on eBay. 

The fabric I also bought from Hobby Lobby (again not even a question). I bought the duck cloth thicker cotton material because I really wanted these pillows to look more professional than my other sad first attempts haha. I also bought zippers to go on each pillow because with a sneaky dog that creeps up onto my couch everyday, I wanted to be able to wash the pillow covers without wearing down the pillow itself. 

I followed the Pinterest DIY to the T and they turned out perfectly, took hardly anytime & I actually want to make more. I ended up making all 10 pillows for $60! Happy crafting!

xoxo

Mandi

Quarter of a Century

I'm officially an adult! Haha I may have hit that milestone when I got married... Or had a baby... But I'm for sure an adult now!

My birthday celebrations were pretty stretched out.. Had several little parties & dinners and it was fabulous!

The first night out was with friends, and we went to this new place in American Fork called Zucchini Grill. It was designed by the same people who created Café Rio and the concept is pretty much the same: you order Italian food in an assembly line. The strange yet awesome thing they do is start out with a tortilla... Then put angel hair pasta in it!! You then add chicken or beef or whatever other main ingredient to it along with the dressing that you want so either marinara or pesto or their Wild Z Balsamic sauce.. Then add cheese, lettuce, veggies… And you're done! They wrap it up like a giant burrito and cut in half for you. It sounds absolutely awful, I know… So I didn't get that ha ha! Micah did and I was super jealous! I got a bowl of pasta with marinara sauce and chicken that was really good… The bowl was massive! It literally could've probably fed two people… Well if the other person wasn't Micah ha ha that man is such a garbage disposal! 

The ambience of Zucchini Grill is very similar to Café Rio. It's a little bit loud, but it's not so loud that you can't have a conversation. It was so much fun to see some friends I haven't seen in a while and just have a fun night out!

Then on my actual birthday, it was kind of funny normal day. I sewed a lot of stuff, made some headbands, hung out with Olive she watch TV ha ha…

Then Micah got home from work & surprised me with a big bouquet of flowers! Love that man. After opening my gifts we hurried out to dinner. Micah's parents babysat for us while we headed up to Silver Inn. 

Unfortunately Silver Inn was closed... Right as we got there. Micah was so bummed out, poor guy. He really wanted it to be a fun escape. Ah, next time. 

So we headed down the canyon and went to one of my favorite restaurants, Porcupine Grill. Mmmm it's sooo good! 

We got this amazing cheese and something dip with bread and it was delish. Can't remember what else was in it of course, but it was something healthy so Micah raised an eyebrow when I suggested it. I don't eat very healthy haha. 

Then we both actually ordered their chicken noodle soup. Genuinely, best soup I've ever had. And I never ever order soup when I go out to dinner. This soup isn't watery like typical chicken noodle is.. It's amazing, just trust me and go get it. It's available everyday in the winter but then only on Wednesdays during the summer months. Yep, I know their schedule for it,  that's how much I LOVE it!!!

After dinner we picked up Livi and went home to crash. 

The next few days were also crazy busy but still kind of birthday celebratory.. 

Micah went out of town and I went to the Salt Lake Comic Con .. Which was amazing in case you're wondering. 

I made a fun new headband for myself to wear that day but Olive had other plans. 

Little goof. My parents babysat her for me for the afternoon while I helped my friends run and advertise their booth Entertainment Is Dead. It was soooo much fun to go and see all of the costumes, artwork, actors and authors there for autographs, and just the wide array of entertainment nerdyisms all around me. Loved it!

Then that following week my parents took Micah & I out to dinner with my sister Jess & bro in law Dan for our birthday dinners. My sister's is in December so hers was a bit late haha!

We went to Tepanyaki's at Jordan Landings and it was fantastic! It is set up in the same style as Benihanas in downtown Salt Lake, so you sit at a large C shaped table with a chef in front of you cooking up everything that you ordered. 

Olive was a bit scared of the flames when the chef came out and cooked everything up in front of us. Poor thing haha we were all laughing at her. 

After our way filling and amazing dinner, they brought Jess & I some yummy ice cream and awkwardly sang to us, haha!

Olive wasn't impressed. 

But she got some serious cuddles with her Nana. 

All in all, my 25th celebrations were amazing and I already know this year is going to be the best yet!

xoxo

Mandi