Last week we had the BEST TIME with all of our friends in California! My friend MaryAnne just had a baby and we all had to fly out to meet sweet baby Elle!
Although I have to admit I was SO nervous to go on a three day trip without Will, it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. My daughter and I bonded more than ever and we seriously had so much fun together. I feel like we left a mother/daughter duo and came home BEST FRIENDS! I hope that never changes!
But how are we not expected to best friends when our afternoons looked like this?
If there’s one thing I learned for sure, it’s that my daughter LOVES the beach. The water was pretty cold but she seriously couldn’t get enough of it. Hardly anyone was actually in the water and she kept going back for more. I couldn’t keep her out! It was the cutest thing to watch. Will now only calls her Moana…..
She was so mad whenever I picked her up out of the sand haha. Looks like we need to plan some more trips to the beach!
We stayed in Monarch Beach and the houses in that neighborhood are UNREAL. You know I loooove looking at homes so each morning she and I would walk around and I’d try not too be creepy taking pictures of every single house….
Overall it was the best couple of days with so many friends. I’m so grateful I have such a great group of friends to navigate through motherhood with. And yes, we were quite the sight to see with 5 babies at all times haha.
The face of a happy baby that we both survived that 7 AM flight! Next time lets have dad come on our flight, shall we? 😅
Growing up, my dad would take us skiing every Saturday in winter and it’s one of my all-time favorite past times! I’ve been dreaming of the day I could teach my own kids how to ski and finally taking our daughter the other week was a dream come true.
We stayed up at the brand new Snowpine Lodge at Alta Ski Resort and it was seriously UNBELIEVABLE! I loved the food, location, and interior so much. I’m already aching to go up and stay there again!
This picture is worth a thousand words… Despite her face, I think she actually loved it. I know many find skiing with a baby dangerous so rest assured, we went on a baby ski hill twice and were done. Probably 15 minutes total! And I didn’t want her in the cold for too long anyway so it was perfect to give her a quick little taste of skiing.
One of my favorite past times with Will was skiing too! We went all the time in High School and love that it is something we enjoy to do together.
I can’t wait to see her on her own baby skis one day! I’ll melt in a puddle.
We went up there to feature their restaurant Swen’s which is a new favorite of mine. If you are local to Utah, please go and try their brussels sprouts! Thank you.
Now let’s get on to the interior of this place. I loved all the earthy tones they used and the ART! The art was my favorite! I wish I knew each artists name so I could give them credit.
When I posted this picture on Instagram and said that Will haaaaates when I call him buddy I had so many people agreeing with me! I guess he’s not the only one… haha. It must be a guy thing to hate it!
I do know a lot of the art was by Jane Durham and now it’s my new life goal to own one of her pieces.
My favorite piece of all! Those are little skiers!
Isn’t it all so beautiful? Makes me not so mad winter seems like it’s here to STAY in Utah…
We are off to warmer weather this weekend and I cannot wait!
I used to absolutely HATE when we had no plans set for the weekend but now I actually look forward to it! It’s just as important to me to hang out at our apartment with just the three of us rather than go out and do something exciting. I know I’ll always miss these days before we have errands and soccer practice all day 😅
But how is the weekend not expected to go great when I have these little legs to squeeze all day?
Growing up right before my eyes…
Will looked over at me at family dinner yesterday and said: “Hurry, come take a picture.. she has SO much corn in her cheeks.” Saving those for something?!
Since the weather was close to 50 degrees, I finally went out and went on a walk! It felt so amazing to get outside and get my body moving. Lucky for me, my friend loves walking as much as I do and texted me to go yesterday afternoon so we went! Can’t wait for Spring to come.. just need a couple more ski days before then 😉
On Friday we went to WICKED with my family! I seriously love Wicked so so so much. I cry every single time when I listen to Defying Gravity and For Good and listening to it live was no exception. If Wicked ever comes to your town, I HIGHLY suggest you go see it! Some people were telling me about the lottery they do and you can maybe get in for $25!
I taught my friends some Pilates on Saturday which was much needed ❤️ My best friends father in law passed away on Friday so it was great to spend time all together and laugh.
To read her father in laws book, order it here. All proceeds go to brain tumor research.
Hope you guys all have a great week! I’ll leave you with a quote I came across on my Pinterest and loved:
A couple of weeks ago we went out to San Diego for a work trip! For those that don’t know, I work for a startup tech company full-time based in San Diego called Tiled. We create, what we like to call, microapps which is essentially an app you can create with no code required. So, if you have some level of graphic design skill, you can essentially build these robust experiences that feel just like an app! To get an idea, you can visit this microapp here.
Anyways, if you remember, Will & our daughter actually joined me for my work trip back in July as well. That was because she REFUSED a bottle so we decided to make a family trip out of it and come out all together which was actually so much fun! This time was a similar situation and Will had some vacation days he could use by March 1st so we made another family trip out of it! I’m super glad they came with me.
For the work retreat, we rented a pretty incredible 5-acre property I found on VRBO that was actually on an orange grove! It was the prettiest view to wake up to outside of our window.
The property had a little casita Will and our daughter could hang in all day while I worked. So yes, Will was on dad duty all week and loved every second of it. He is the BEST dad to our girl.
Here is a picture he sent me while they were on a walk together and I just about died.
The trip was a great mixture of work and play. We worked hard during the day but the mornings were filled with team runs and at night we went to the movies, go carts and played games as a team.
If you can’t tell, I get quite heated playing Avalon…
We had two hours to spend on a real “vacation” before our flight on Saturday and loved meeting up with my sister and brother-in-law who just so happened to be in San Diego as well! Seriously, what are the chances?
Ate at my favorite.. Puesto!
This girl has all of the personality these days. She’s crawling around like crazy, has a hard time eating solids (makes the LOUDEST gagging sound but never actually throws up… we get wonderful stares in public) and is so spunky. I can’t wait to watch her grow up!
If I look tired that’s because I am tired.
Will snuck this photo of me as we were entering the airport and I can’t help but laugh when I look at it… If this is all of our crap with one kid what in the world is it going to look like with more?!
Overall it was a great trip and I feel super happy to have my little family and a husband that supports me in all my crazy work endeavors. I am going back out to San Diego without them in a couple weeks and am already feeling a little nervous about it!
My friend Karli introduced this treat to me in college and it’s seriously been one of my favorite’s ever since! I guess they sell them at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory? It’s like a mix of fudge and rice krispie treats! So yummy.
Combine white chocolate chips and peanut butter in a bowl and microwave in 30-second increments until melted (usually takes us about 3-4x!)
Remove white chocolate and peanut butter from the microwave and stir in Rice Krispies. Mix everything together and let it cool until it reaches about room temperature. Stirring occasionally for 10 – 20 mins.
Once it’s at room temp, stir in miniature marshmallows, then the mini chocolate chips.
Pour everything into the square pan and press it all so it seems even.
Refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes.
Cut into squares and enjoy!
Tag me in your posts if you make them! You’ll love them 😘
Oh man… the day after Christmas our daughter and I flew to California without Will and it was maybe the most stressful situation I’ve ever been in. I now full-on worship parents who fly alone haha. How do they do it?! I am a pretty big stickler when it comes to her naps so her not napping from 6 am until 3 pm completely threw us (both) for a loop. She was so hyper (over-tired) and would go from being happy to crying every 10 minutes haha. I could NOT wait to get to the hotel to put her down! I was in a full sweat all day.
But we made it! And we both survived haha. We went with my in-laws and it was such a great trip to all be together! Disneyland is also getting more & more fun with our girl since she’s able to appreciate it all more. She straight up sat and waved at people passing by for 10 minutes right here and we could not stop laughing. She is one social butterly!
Obviously she’s really thrilled about sitting still…
And we of course had to get her her first set of ears! I’ve never even owned a pair of ears for myself so this was a happy moment.
As fun as it is, Disneyland is also sometimes hard with a baby! I had to constantly run her back to the hotel to nap (fortunately we stayed close!) and then it’s a lot of stimulation for such a little baby. After our 2nd day she SCREAMED for about 30 minutes straight on the drive to the beach house. So that was fun for everyone in the car… but it is so worth it!
Can you even stand that smile?! It’s Wills new background on his phone and he shows me it about sixty times a day.
The last half of the trip was spent in Newport beach and although it was cold (for California standards) it felt GLORIOUS compared to Utah!
I always love walking around the Lido District. Especially around Serena & Lily! Such a darling store!
Found another new favorite store as well: Eberjey Darling suits and loungewear! Softest sets ever.
We lasted at the beach for hmm 5 minutes (not an exaggeration.. she hated the sand haha) but I had to get a quick picture of her in her dang swimsuit. I live for those rolls!
Overall, it was the best (most needed!) trip with our little family. Now we are working on booking a trip with just the three of us for this year and I have no idea where we want to go! Just SOMEWHERE preferably outside of Utah during this time of year. The air quality is so bad 😩
Love, Liv
Bambi Rag(sold out, similar ones are linked from their website!)
You really can’t beat baby’s first Christmas! The entire Christmas season was straight up magic with our daughter and I know it’s only going to get better when she gets older and can understand more! This Christmas season was different than any other previous year… in the best way possible.
This picture of her and Santa together kills me! She’s like “what do you mean I only get one present?!” hahaha.
I was really intrigued to see if our daughter would start crawling the second we set up our Christmas tree but fortunately she didn’t. I was able to soak up one last year with a Christmas tree that’s not ransacked by toddlers haha. But she did start crawling this week so YAY!
I also love the Christmas season because I get to see so many friends that come into town for the holidays! My friend Sarah throws a friend brunch every year and it’s the best thing to see everyone.
Hands down my favorite memory all of Christmas ❤️
Our December calendar was filled with so many activities with family and friends which I never mind because it’s one of my favorite things about the season. Luckily our daughter THRIVES off of human interaction and loves being out and about so she didn’t mind oooneeee bit haha.
We loved talking to our missionary siblings too. Jake is serving in Cambodia and Jensen is in Peru! Both doing so well and it was amazing to hear from them.
On Christmas day, I accidentally left my phone at home all day and it was seriously the best thing ever (I might do it on purpose every year from here on out) so this is the only picture we got the entire day and I love seeing our little family of 3 all together. Will left to start driving to California with some of his family Christmas night so this is the only picture we got! I am so grateful for them and all the happiness they bring to my life.
Okay here it is! Out of my 6+ years of blogging, this has been the most frequently asked request. I’ve been so hesitant to share because truthfully, I’m a rookie in the beauty world. It’s always just overwhelmed me and I didn’t start wearing bb cream on my face until about a year ago soo… Oh and I also learned how to curl my hair the morning of my wedding. So I hope that explains a lot.
But! Here it is. Feel free to ask my any questions…
I think having a good shampoo & conditioner is KEY. I woke up using V05 😳 which fried my hair so I now I invest in the good stuff and feel like it totally makes a huge difference.
I had no idea how much impact a good brush made! Especially when I just about lost ALL of my hair 6 months postpartum. I have a big one in my bathroom and keep a small one in my car/purse!
I have been using Mythic Oil for YEARS and love it. I simply rub it through my hair once it’s all done being styled. Sometimes I’ll even rub a more than normal amount through a couple hours before I shower.
Another good protector. I use a lot of heat on my hair since my natural hair looks similar to a drowned rat. So I always straighten it and curl it every week or so!
This is another spray I always use to finish it off. My hair doesn’t naturally hold a curl super well so I love using this as a finishing spray to hold everything together!
I’ve had some weird dry patches show up all over my body so I’ve done a lot of research and safe lotions. I use Simple on my face every single morning and also CeraVe for my body!
I will be honest, I feel completely overwhelmed when I walk into the beauty department or Sephora. I have no idea the difference in all the concealers, foundations, primers etc. and I’ve never taken the time to figure it out. But luckily I found this cream and it’s all I feel like I need to use… I just dab a little bit on my fingers and rub it under my eyes to even my skin out.
Fortunately I have a pretty good olive skin as a base but man… Utah winters can be so hard! I always feel better when my skin has a little color and I LOVE these wipes. Be sure to wash your hands after you use them! And rub them in GOOD. Not that I know from experience or anything…
$27 for deodorant? Are you high? I get it.. it’s a pricy deodorant. But it smells SO good and doesn’t leave my shirts smelling awful. Mine lasts forever and I always bring it to our favorite things parties.. I love it. Don’t judge me lol.
I’ll be honest, my brows struggle. But to also be honest, I’ve never really cared. I used to pluck my eyebrows all the time and then my friend told me she couldn’t be my friend anymore if I kept plucking #truefriend. So I stopped and now my brows will NOT grow back. This was 4 years ago! Dead serious. Another friend told me about Boy Brow and I’m converted. It’s so perfect to rub through my brows and I feel like I’m not 12 years old anymore when I have it on.
I told you I’m a BIG rookie. I use Secret SPORT (Sport is key) and I love it! I think it smells soo good and really keeps me from sweating. I can only wear gray shirts if I’m wearing this lol.
LIPS
I get asked this on Instagram probably every other day and I am NOT LYING when I tell you I don’t wear anything on my lips. No one believes me but they are naturally a little dark pink. However, the color that closely resembles my lip color is THIS ONE.
I’m not going to lie, I’ve always had a hard time justifying paying for family pictures. I have a (semi) nice camera and take pictures of us pretty much every week so I’ve never found the need to have an actual professional take our pictures… oh boy I was so wrong! I will cherish these photos forever! Worth every Penny 😜
I didn’t want us to be too cold for too long so we took the pictures right outside my parents house and they turned out perfectly!
I can’t deal with that face!! We took these over a month ago and she’s already looking so much bigger!
Still can’t believe we are a family of three.
Happy Holidays, everyone. I hope you have the merriest Christmas!
-Liv
Details:
Photographer: Brittany Nikole. (I found her on Instagram and love her!)
Last week we had the most beautiful luncheon to launch A Banner Day at one of my all-time favorite homes. Cara, the owner of The Fox Group, has created the most incredible home for her family and every inch of it is perfect.
For those of you that don’t know, my mother in law Jeni is an extremely talented artist and has been making hand-painted gourds (like the one above) for over twenty years! She runs her Jeni Bee Market several times a year and has been wanting to venture into manufacturing her banners (that Wills grandma has been sewing by hand!) and I’m so glad she finally did. They turned out so beautiful!
My basement apartment entrance has got nothin’ on this entrance 😝
(no but in all reality, we actually live in the basement of a home built by The Fox Group and it’s amazing and we never want to leave)
We invited friends to the launch that have been friends or longtime supporters of Jeni’s business. It was so fun to be surrounded by so many incredible people.
The banners come in Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s, Spring 4th of July, (my favorite), and Halloween. With more coming soon!
Daylight savings was FUN!!!!
Of course, I had Thirst Drinks cater. I will do anything for that Diet April O’Neal.
And the food was provided by the incredible ladies over at Kiwi and Carrot! Their blog is AMAZING for recipes and wellness!
A lot of the A Banner Daybrand is revolving around traditions and bringing friends and family together. The little gingerbread houses were an example of one of Jeni’s favorite traditions which is making gingerbread houses after Thanksgiving dinner! If you have a favorite family tradition, please submit it HERE so we can share it on social!
You can use code olivia25 for 25% off your order at abannerday.com from now until November 26th!
I’ve been dreaming of last weekend since last weekend.
We headed down to St. George with a group of friends and it was seriously just what I needed. The past couple of years, Will and I have been able to travel a bunch because of work/our flexible jobs and now with a baby/Wills new job, it’s a lot harder to get away! And if you know me, you know I love getting away ☺️
Our daughter and her boyfriend.
She didn’t get the whole “sleep in while you’re on vacation” memo but we loved our mornings together, just us two.
The prettiest scene from my morning run with Tay! It was my longest run since having our daughter (only like 5 miles) but it felt AMAZING! I thought I’d get back into my running groove quicker than my body had planned but the human body is pretty incredible. I am feeling stronger every day!
If you saw from my Instagram Stories, she LOVED the pool haha. She was just getting tossed with zero emotion/tears the entire time. She is at such a fun age to swim with… right in time for winter… which means it must be time for another vacation 😉
If you ever find yourself in St. George, be sure to visit Snow Canyon! This is the Petrified Dunes hike and it is seriously incredible.
And that’s a wrap. Now I’ll just count down the days until our next trip… which we don’t have planned.
Before the weather turned (why oh why does Utah get so cold so fast?!), we took our girl on her first little picnic! We grabbed some food at CoreLife, our Little Unicorn Poppy Outdoor Blanket and hit the park!
This blanket is the best because it folds up perfectly! I have it in the back of my car at all times and pull it out at the most random times.
I’ve also used their swaddles since the day our daughter was born. The muslin ones are my absolute favorite! So soft and they come in theeeeeee cutest patterns.
I’ll forever cherish these nights with my family. I still can’t believe we are a family of three! And now we’ll just count down the days until we can have another picnic haha. This might be a long winter….
