Is anyone else obsessed with pineapples too?

Planter | Candle | Girl's Shirt | Pineapple Jam | Nails | Shirt

I've been off the scrapbooking scene for awhile now, but in an effort to get back in, I ordered my first Messy Box. Did you see what awesome screen-print was included this month? Yep, a pineapple. I have plans to use this to make an awesome shirt.

You can get your own box here

I also made a Pinterest board just for this new obsession of mine. You can take a look at all my fun pineapple finds here.

May was full of rain, but June hit, and it was hello, Summer!

I, like the rest of the internet, have been loving peonies, and have been making weekly visits to Trader Joe's to keep fresh ones on my table.



Ryan and I celebrated 8 years of marriage last week and enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner. We were so hungry, I didn't even get to take a picture. But, I assure you it looked and tasted delicious.

Zoe turned 7 on her last day of school and we enjoyed steak ka-bobs for dinner at her request. She was itching all day to open her presents, but I made her wait until her daddy got home.

We've lived here almost a year now (crazy, I know!) and we really haven't had a chance to explore much outside of where we live.


We took advantage of the long weekend and booked a mini trip Austin. We booked our hotel through Priceline. I really like their Express Deals, and we've had great success with using them over the last few years. We stayed here, and it was perfect for what we needed.

We stayed almost 48 hours, which was just enough time to get-a-way, without feeling like we needed a day to recuperate from our trip.

After hearing lots of recommendations from friends and ward members, we realized that the main thing to do in Austin, is eat.

We were offered many lists of must eat places, most of which we didn't get to. But the places we did eat at, did not disappoint!

Salt Lick BBQ

"Enjoying the magic in this ordinary evening."

Yesterday was a typical Sunday. We slept in. Ryan went to meetings. We went to church. We had dinner. We did a whole lot of nothing productive, but somehow it contained the perfect combination of ordinary life that I love.

Texas has been so gloomy lately. (and this is coming from someone who loves cloudy weather)
Thankfully, I was able to find some cheap flights to Utah for Zoe and I for spring break!

I got some kind of stomach bug the day before our trip and let's just say it was a miracle I made it on the plane! Zoe hadn't been on an airplane in years, so for her, it felt like her first time flying. She was giddy with excitement. It was so fun to watch her squeal and squirm while we were waiting to take off.

Noah, Ethan, Zoe

Zoe, Preston, Noah, Ethan - Circa 2006

We got to spend lots of time with my sister and my darling niece, Lily. Zoe just eats up spending time with her - although she likes to tell her what to do most of the time. We took the girls to an indoor pool. I took Zoe down the two story slide - let me tell you, that was one intense slide. It was pitch black inside and really fast. It took me several minutes after one ride to catch my breath. 

We've been in Texas 7 months today!
To say this week's weather was a surprise, is a bit on an understatement.

Just as we got this one out, the other front tooth started to wiggle.

::Heaven help me::

I've been have so much fun digging through my stash lately. I keep finding all sorts of fun pieces that I want to use.

Zoe has actually taken an interest in scrapbooking, which is why I've really started to use my stash. She asks for supplies to use and I have to sort through the boxes of stuff I have, deciding what I am willing to share and what I'm keeping for myself.

Do you share your supplies? Or do you keep a tight guard on your boxes?

XOXO,
Holly & Co.

So you will never guess what I did last night?

Yep, I made page 1/52 for 2015.

I haven't scrapbooked in months. Yes, months.

In the Fall of 2014, we started seeing a fertility specialist which caused a chain reaction I was not ready for. These appointments, tests and procedures brought to the surface depression and anxiety, both which I've been able to cope with without medication or therapy for 10 years.

Scrapbooking and creating has been a form of therapy for me since I was introduced to it in my early teenage years. I didn't realize the therapy it provided until I was about 18 - but it has been a serious part of my life ever since then.

With the new year, goal setting and narrowing in on my one little word, I realized that in 2014, I let infertility take this special part of my life away. The creative process that I love and cherish, I had been robbed of - which is why I decided to make creative goals this year.

I decided I was going to take back the joy of creating.

So I did.

I made this page last night. I was worried that I would be lacking in layout ideas or feel lost, especially since I have been sewing so much lately. Nope. This page came together fairly quickly. I think it only took 2 episodes on Netflix. (Yes, I use episodes on Netflix to keep time. Don't you?)
I shopped my stash for this layout. It felt so good to dig through my boxes and boxes of supplies (more on that in a different post...) and find unopened sheets of stickers and uncut paper.

I have plenty of pictures from the last 7 months that haven't made it onto a scrapbook page yet, I'm anticipating that I'll reach my 52 page goal much ahead of schedule.

XOXO,
Holly & Co.

Square corners!

When we moved to Texas, we had to get a new bed for Zoe. We contemplated whether to purchase her a twin or queen size bed. Ultimately, we decided to give her our old queen mattress and purchase a new memory foam mattress for ourselves. (It was a good choice for both parties)

She adores the giant bed, and we have a nice big bed for visitors to stay in. However, we don't have extra queen size bedding. Rather than purchase new bedding, I decided to make some for her with this gorgeous fabric I've been holding onto for quite some time.

Her quilt is in the works right now. I'll share more on that when it's completed. While I was waiting on some extra fabric to arrive, I had enough scraps to start making some pillows.

Fabric: Briar Rose by Heather Ross for Windham Fabrics - it is out of print, but you can find various prints available on etsy, ebay & Fort Worth Fabric Studio

These pillows are a staple on her bed right now. They currently hold these adorable abridged and illustrated classics from the Target $1 spot.

The pattern for these pillows is available in this book. I've had it for almost two years now. I love it, but I've never made anything from it - until now!

On a side note - If you are new to sewing or are looking for easy to follow patterns, Allison Harris from Cluck, Cluck, Sew, is by far my favorite. Her designs are beautiful and clean, and her patterns are so user friendly!

As part of my One Little Word for 2015, I have a mini goal to do something creative everyday. This should be fairly easy considering I have a dedicated craft corner in my room and several projects already in the works or in mind.

While not all creativity can be quantified - for my purposes I am going to try.

Sewing

• Complete 6 quilts - this shouldn't really be that hard, considering I have 4 already in various stages on completion. 
• Sew 6 garments for Zoe - I got a serger for my birthday, and I am determined to make it worth it. I have plenty of patterns and fabric to make clothes for Zoe.
• Sew 6 garments for Myself - Last year, I sewed a dress for myself. It wasn't perfect, in fact, there are a lot of things that needed improvement in it, but, it was good enough to wear to my brother-in-law's wedding reception, and I even got a few compliments on it. This is also in effort to improve the quality of my wardrobe, making items that fit me well. View my Pinterest board of wardrobe patterns here.

Here I am in the not-so-perfect dress.

Scrapbooking

• Make 52 pages in 2015 - The reason this is a yearly goal, is I scrapbook in waves. I can complete 3 pages in a day, and then none for weeks on end, so I making this a yearly tally.
• Sort and Purge supplies - I do better with less options. I have boxes overflowing with supplies that I haven't touched in too long. Watch for some sale boxes and giveaways!

My favorite scrapbook page from 2014

It's no secret that life around here has been anything but calm lately.

2014 was a year of movement. Lots of change. Lots of adjustments. It has left me feeling weathered down. Towards the end of the year, I've been struggling with keeping my anxiety and depression at bay - something that I have had under control for 10+ years. The battle of infertility has really dominated my life and I've been too beaten down with life to really fight against those feelings.

As I spent the majority of the last day of 2014 in a car, I thought so much about what I wanted my life to look like 12 months from now. There is a lot of stuff that I need to let go of to get there. There is a lot of work that I need to do - on all fronts, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

The end goal? Peace. Being Ok with not always being Ok. Letting go of things I cannot control.

So how am I going to do that?

Well, after reading an awesome post on goal setting by my cousin, I realized I'm an action-focused person. I have made a plan about what small steps I need to take to work towards peace on all fronts.

Physical
- Exercise 3x a week.
- Drink a glass of water 1st thing in the morning and last thing at night

Emotional
- Meditate 2x a week.
- Keep a Journal

Mental
- Do something creative 1x a day
- Read/Listen for 30 minutes a day

Spiritual
- Read/Listen to scriptures 30 minutes a day
- Visit the Temple once a month

By simple and small means, can we achieve great things.
This is my plan.
Small and simple. All of these things are doable for me.

I will not be perfect, but even on my bad days, I can do these things. I have plans for other things in the future, but for now, I'm starting with this.

XOXO,
Holly & CO.

I spent the last several hours of 2014 in car. I was driving to Texas from Utah, after attending the services for my Grandfather. We spent a total of 44 hours in a car on the trip there and back, which led to a lot of time for thought and review.

This year has been really hard in a lot of ways. We have endured the loss of family members and pregnancies. We have uprooted our lives, leaving behind close friends and family. We both started new jobs, which bring challenges.

But true to my One Little Word, I chose at the beginning of 2014, it has been an adventure. I grabbed a few of my favorites from 2014 to share.

Favorite Acheivement - Ryan Graduating Cum Laude

Just two days before Christmas, I got a phone call - the kind of phone call no one wants to get. My Grandfather passed away. I feel lucky to have had as many years with him as I did. All 29 of my years, he was around. Most people don't get that long with their grandparents, a lot of people don't get time with their grandparents at all. I was lucky to not only have grandparents alive, but to actually share a special bond with them.

My Grandpa gave me my nickname. It started as "Holly-Hugs" because I was an especially affectionate child. It morphed into Holly-Bug, some years into it. He still called me that. Even as a married mother, I was still his Holly-Bug. The nickname has lovingly been passed onto Zoe, and she is now known often as, Zoe-Bug.

He was present at all my big life events, but many of the small ones too. Many of my close friends have met my grandparents, and probably even shared a meal or two with them. They have always been involved in our lives, even when we have been separated by hundreds of miles.

I was asked to speak for one minute at his funeral. My topic, "What I learned from my Grandfather." It is very hard to condense such a special relationship into 60 seconds. How can I possibly convey all my feelings and thoughts into such a tiny window. When I thought about what to say, there are a few memories that came to mind.

As a child, I remember one Christmas in particular, my sisters and I had received the game, "Pretty, Pretty, Princess." The point of the game was to collect all the jewelry pieces and then the winner would receive the crown - becoming the Prettiest Princess. The other adults at our Christmas celebration must have been all played out, but Grandpa agreed to play; and he didn't just half-hardheartedly spin the wheel, he won the game! He wore all the jewelry pieces, including the crown. I'm sure we had a good laugh about it then, but that was the kind of Grandfather he was.

He officiated our wedding in the Sacramento Temple. He married us for time and all eternity - what a special gift he gave to us.


We have been fortunate to live near my grandparents for several months during our married life, and Zoe was able to create a such a unique friendship with her Great-Grandfather. She has spent many hours helping Grandpa in the garden. He was so sweet to her. He would give her special tasks in the garden to make her feel included. He would walk with her up and down the rows and pick raspberries with her. When she got hot and needed a break, he would come inside and color with her or do puzzles.