Mavi's Mermaid Pirate Party

Mavi turned 4 last month, and Celsey planned THE CUTEST mermaid/pirate themed party to celebrate. Celsey is the best party planner, and it is so much fun to help her execute her fun ideas. 

every little detail was perfect from the invitations, to the map, to the decor to the food.

the adorable photo booth

pirate battle in the playroom

ring toss on pirate hooks

walk the plank

sand art

gift bags

panning for gold

the food was perfectly themed, delicious, and adorable

mermaid tale cake for the birthday girl

The party was a huge success. The kids had a great time. Mavi got so many fun gifts. Everyone was exhausted and happy with all of it.

one little word-November 2018

In 2018 I want to fill my life with things and people I LOVE and let things go that I do not love. I want to show more LOVE to others and accept more LOVE. I want my life to be full of LOVE.

My word of the year and goals have been on my mind, but I definitely have not been as intentional as I would like to be. With 2 months left in the year, I want to make the most of the next two months. 2 months is still plenty of time to accomplish a lot, and I am determined to do it.

YEARLY GOALS
*attend temple 12 times-I need to go this month
*send birthday and other cards monthly✔
*nightly gratitude journal✔ kind of but I want to do better
*love my body by continuing health and fitness goals-I have not focused on this goal like I want, and I am excited to focus more this month
*monthly savings/budget goal to be more accountable for my spending and save more-I need to fully commit to this again,

NOVEMBER GOALS

*clean up my nutrition-clean eating

*increase intensity of workouts

*put phone down by 10:30 (I did a 10 day social media cleanse last month. I missed sharing my life with friends and family and keeping up with friends and family, but I did not miss the aimless scrolling or time I spend on social media when I should be sleeping. I still really love social media, but I need to prioritize sleep.)

Co-worker Paint Nite

I love my job! I love what I do, and I really love the people I work with. I have done one paint night before. It's a pretty fun group activity. We met for dinner and then went to the bar for paint night. I love these because even though you feel like yours is not very good, they all end up looking pretty great. We had plenty of fun doing it.

Beauty Time Tuesday-September Empties

I used up a whole lot of products last month which means this month will likely be a little less. I really liked all of these products and would buy them again.

4 Life body wash-smells great

Amika hairspray-best smelling hair line. LOVE

Sebastian shaper hairspray-just ok

Bath and Body works body cream-not my fave scents but i love the product

Bath and Body works foaming hand soap-Love

L'Oreal Elvive conditioner-good deep conditioner

Coola setting spray-smells terrible but great product

bliss oxygen mask-loved a lot more than i expected

Vasanti BrightenUp scrub-LOVE

Crude oil cleanser-love for shaving my face with tinkle razor. do not love for cleansing

MAC blushbaby blush-LOVE

Intuition razor-must have

beauty time Tuesday-new products including Fab Fit Fun box

There is a subscription box for almost everything these days. As fun as they all seem, I have avoided most of them. I don't use a lot of sample size products so those don't appeal to me as much. I have seen so many people over the years talk about the FabFitFun box. I saw so so so many people talking about and promoting the summer box. When I found out a little more about what was in the box, I caved and ordered it. I was so excited for it to come and even more excited when it actually got here. I love everything in the box. The total worth of the box was close to $100. Since it was my first box I only paid $39.99 so it was well worth it. 

I loved the summer box so much that the fall box was an easy decision. Again the products in the box are worth over $300. The best thing is they are full sized products so it really is worth it. I am so excited about everything I got. I have only used a couple of things and so far I love it all. 

If you've been wanting to try it, you can use my code refqf-o2o7ja to get $10 off your first box.

Marco Polo comes to Utah

A little over a year and a half ago, Becky started a Marco Polo group of her friends. She wanted all of her friends to be friends with each other. I had no idea what Marco Polo was, and I also had no idea how to make time for another social media app. Well, I found out it's not really social media, and I have plenty of time driving around all day. Marco Polo has become my favorite way to connect with friends and family so when I got the chance to connect with the creator and a couple of employees I was super excited. They planned the most amazing event a while ago in Provo. They invited some really fun people, had delicious food, and gave everyone a chance to talk about the app and ways to share it with others.


They had the cutest decor complete with giant balloons, huge beach balls, and other balloons.

with Megan, Vlada, and Jessica from Marco Polo

with blogger friends



the early evening lighting was a bit intense, but that photo backdrop was everything

the food was incredible

swag bags from generous sponsors




If you're not using Marco Polo, I suggest you check it out immediately.

Random August Happs

August came and went and I am trying to play catch up.


Amanda came into town and some of us randomly ended up at Michelle's one night. It was late and I wasn't planning to stay or even go, but it ended up being so much fun I just couldn't leave.

dinner at The Cheesecake Factory because Michelle and Amanda were in town.

Angie and Symoni played a round of who wore it worst in Anthropologie and I'm still laughing about it.

I met Lisa and Jackie for lunch while Lisa was still in town.

Robyn came to SLC for a convention and I got lucky enough to see her

the Friday lunch tradition continues

Trudy very suddenly passed away and several of us attended her funeral

We celebrated Shawn's birthday at Dave and Busters

The monday night gang crashed Air Design's summer party

How to Decrease your Utility Bill

*this is a sponsored article

Do you ever feel like you're spending way too much on utilities? The way the weather changes here in Utah we often go from AC to heat in the same day and sometimes back and forth a few times. We don't seem to have much of a break so I am definitely paying attention to these tips. 

Steps to Cut Your Utility Bill in Half

by Alek Sabin

When you add up your monthly expenses, does you utility bill take you by surprise? Once you tack it onto your mortgage, car payment, and Netflix, your utilities can add up to quite the hit in the pocketbook. Worst of all, the amount of money you spend on electricity, gas, and water probably varies considerably, month-by-month, depending on the season. This is because you are using more on certain months (more electricity when it’s hot or more gas when it’s cold), and also because gas and electric companies actually change their rates pretty regularly (because who’s going to stop them?)

However, it’s also somewhat good news that your utility bill is such a variable, because it means there are lots of ways that you can lower it on your own. If you’re looking to save a little bit more money, and are looking at your budget wondering how to do so, then an extra bundle of cash cut out of your utilities is going to be pretty nice. Here are some steps to cut your utility bill in half…

Use a Programmable Thermostat

Modern homes typically have modern thermostats that can be programmed to make your climate control system much more efficient. Even if you live in an older home, a smart thermostat is well-worth the cost. A programmable thermostat enables you to set specific temperatures for certain times of day, and to have the system work to bring the temperature up or down at variable amounts, depending on how hot or cold it is outside.

In addition, using your thermostat to only heat or cool your home when you are actually there, or only when you are awake, means that you will be using far less gas and electricity throughout the day. By simply being smart about what times your home is being heated and cooled, you can shave a tenth of your monthly energy bill.

Plan for a Cool Home

Running the air conditioner all summer is a quick way to make your electric bill skyrocket. In addition to using that programmable thermostat, there are many other ways to make your home cooler, without having to use as much electricity. Oftentimes, this just takes a little bit of forethought and planning. Sometimes, this is long-term planning, such as growing trees in practical spots that will shade your home, over time. Other times, this requires short-term planning, such as opening your windows early in the morning to let the cold air run through your home. For more ideas, here is a nifty article about some different ways to keep your home cool during the summer.

Insulation Is Crucial

Few things are adding up on your utility bill like the costs of heating and cooling your home. Indeed, that’s almost certainly the largest portion of your utility payments, by far. In order to combat these mounting expenses, you need to spend some money upfront on making sure that your home is properly insulated. This means that you’re spending less energy to get your home to the particular temperature that you want. There are a wide variety of ways to do this, but the most important way is to insulate your walls and attic. You can affordably do this by using recycled insulation materials, which also are much better for the environment, in addition to be a financially smart decision for your home.

Don’t Forget Your Vehicle!

The fuel you put in your car counts as a utility cost, as well. Because of that, when calculating your utility costs every month, you need to consider how much gas you are using in your vehicle. When you do this, you can strategize ways to spend less on that gas, such as using your car less, using loyalty deals to get lower prices on gasoline, and getting a more fuel efficient car. We often think of our home’s as an investment, but we should also think of our car more in that way, so that we can get the most of our money.