A RAINY WEEKEND

This whole weekend was rainy, and beautiful, and didn't feel like Utah at all. I'm not sure how many times this weekend Jeremy and I both said something along the lines of "it doesn't feel like we're in Utah right now." It's been so rainy lately that everything is seriously so wet and green all the time that it's hard to believe you're still living in the middle of a desert. I'm really loving all this greenery lately!

SATURDAY:

I keep seeing the Provo Bakery's photos pop up on my Instagram feed so we finally went to check it out. It's a cute shop and the donuts were so yummy! And just check out their adorable bags! They're right... I do deserve a donut. ;)

After donuts, we went to the Beehive Bazaar at The Startup Building in Provo. I've been meaning to go to the Beehive Bazaar for like a year now but for some reason I always end up missing it. There were so many cute things that I wanted, but lately I'm really trying to limit what I buy. I pretty much own everything I need so there's no real need to buy anything new. Jeremy and I did end up buying matching gold rings though that I'm kind of in love with. You can see his in one of the coffee photos down below. They're simple little stacking rings but I love them!

I also got a new chapstick from Queen Farina. It's a cute local company here in Utah run by two sisters who make all their products from their own honey bees. I bought one of their chapsticks a year or so ago at Craft Lake City and it has been one of my favorite chapsticks ever so I figured I'd better get another one.

We didn't take any photos at the Beehive Bazaar, but let me just tell you, it was cute! If you like handmade items and supporting local businesses this is a cool thing to go to! It will also be going on this next weekend as well. I think I'm going to apply to be a vendor for the next show in September for my Confetti Heart baby skirts!

SUNDAY:

Jeremy has been telling me about a coffee shop called 3 Cups for a while now and we finally decided to go, and I'm so glad we did! It's seriously the coolest little coffee shop with huge windows on each end and the prettiest natural light filtering through the shop. If you're in Salt Lake City and like cool coffee shops, go check it out! I'm pretty sure it's technically in Holladay though because we were pretty far east towards the mountains, but it's worth the short little drive!

Photo by: Jeremy

Jeremy somehow always takes the best photos of me! Candid photos will always be my favorite and he's so good at capturing little moments.

We bought cute little plants Saturday evening from the loveliest little greenhouse shop in Orem called  Sun River Gardens. We also went to my favorite shop Sunday afternoon, Cactus and Tropicals. Not that either of us need anymore succulents and plants though, we have so many already. But I guess you can never have too much happy greenery in your house though, right? :)

Jeremy might be embarrassed about this photo but I think it's the cutest! I've been addicted to toothpicks for a while now and I think I'm starting to get him caught up in it too. Sometimes we like to act tough when we have our toothpicks, hence his stance in this photo. :)

As the rain poured outside, we planted our cute little plants inside. There's something about rainy day Sundays that just makes me so happy!

I'm not sure what kind of little plant this is, but it's currently my new favorite!

It's so nice to have friends who love succulents, and greenhouses, and plant shopping as much as you do!

ALL THE GOODS:
All the lovely photos of me were taken by Jeremy. Check out his Instagram for the happiest little collection of photos. Instagram: Jeremy Foster

Jeremy's website: Jeremy Foster Imagery

My Confetti Heart shop for those who want to check it out: Confetti Heart

Here's more info about the Beehive Bazaar: Beehive Bazaar

3 Cups Website: 3 Cups

Provo Bakery Website: TheProvoBakery.com

Orem Greenhouse Shop: Sun River Gardens

Salt Lake City Greenhouse Shop: Cactus and Tropicals

The best natural honey based chapstick you'll ever own: Queen Farina

CAPITOLA, CA

Recently, I went home to California for just about 3 weeks. My mom had surgery on March 31st so I went home to stay with her for a bit as she recovered. My obvious main goal of going home was to just be there to help her as she recovered, but I also wanted to do a few things I was missing while living in Utah. (Yosemite, going to the beach, etc.)

I really love living in Salt Lake City but I find that no matter what, a huge part of my heart will forever remain in California. I'm really enjoying my life here in SLC but I know eventually I will want to move back to California, preferably Southern California. Southern California always calls out to me so hopefully in the near future I can figure out a good enough plan to make that actually work. I'll probably stay in Salt Lake City another year or two before moving on to my next adventure.

One day while I was home, I was sewing a skirt, and my mama was watching tv in the family room and I mentioned that I wanted to go to the beach. Before I knew it she was looking up little hotels in different beach towns for that night and I started packing. I think that's something I admire about my mom. She's like me in the sense of spontaneity. One minute we're being content little lazy kids and the next we're getting ready to go to the beach that evening.

We ended up finding the cutest little hotel in Capitola to stay that night.

I tend to be an early riser on vacations so I woke up early before the sun so I could watch the sunrise on the beach. It was so peaceful to be out there before the crowds of people, and watch the other early morning people enjoy the sunrise. There were a group of surfers out on the water and it was so relaxing to just watch them paddle around and chit chat out on the water on their boards. I've never surfed but I can appreciate the skill and beauty in it.

We found a cute little candy store next to our hotel. I'm not even that crazy about taffy but I love the idea of taffy/candy shops.

Lunch on the beach from Pizza My Heart. I finally bought myself a shirt this time. I feel like I used to always see everyone at my highschool wear Pizza My Heart shirts. I'm like 7 years late, but I'm finally cool like those highschool kids! :)

AN EVENING IN LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON

Yesterday it was raining all day in the city, so Jeremy and I decided to go up the canyon to Little Cottonwood Canyon in the evening. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite places around here. It was freezing, and snowing, and seriously gorgeous! We walked around in the snow/rain to explore and take photos. It was perfect.

Also, we went back to a river spot that we went to about a month ago, and the current was so high and strong this time around. It was nice to see it like that. I feel like this is going to be a good summer! :) 

It's nice to have new friends who like to go out into nature as much as I do. Also, Jeremy takes the coolest photos. You can check out some of his stuff right here: fosterimagery.weebly.com or on Instagram: jeremyfoster

You should. He's a cool kid.

A 23RD BIRTHDAY TRIP!

I turned 23 years old last Saturday, so I decided to take a little trip. I usually do the same thing for my birthday every year (go out to dinner with friends, or a little party at home) so I decided it would be fun to do something different this year.

Forrest and I went to Southern California to spend the weekend, and my Mamabear drove down to meet us there. We went to Magic Mountain on Saturday, the Santa Monica Pier on Sunday, and back to Magic Mountain on Monday. I also got to visit with my brother and his family, and my aunt and uncle and cousin who all live in Southern California.

I think 23 might be the magic age to overcome my fear of rollercoasters. I only started to really enjoy rollercoasters when I was about 18 but I don't think it was until this trip that I actually overcame that underlying fear of them. With that being said, I still won't go on Lex Luther's Drop of Doom. That is the only ride at the park that I just can't muster up the courage for. I'm just way too scared of how high it goes! I'm not usually scared of heights but I guess I am when it comes to rollercoasters!

On Monday, we woke up early to get to Magic Mountain before the park opened. With our Season passes they let us in 10 minutes earlier than everyone else which isn't a ton, but it definitely helps you get a head start. Forrest and I rode Goliath right away just because that line always gets so long. We ended up riding it twice because no one else was in the park yet so the guy just let us go around again. I started blacking out on the turns on our first ride which is one of the strangest feelings ever. I had heard of people blacking out on Goliath, but it has never happened to me before so it was strange to experience it. One minute I'm giggling and enjoying the ride and the next minute all I can see is black and my body felt like a slug sliding down in my seat. So bizarre! Right after the fast turns, I came out of it and heard Forrest asking if I was okay. He said he could see it in my face.

On Sunday, we went to the Santa Monica Pier to meet up with my brother Paul and his family. My uncle Greg and cousin Sophia went too. We all had dinner on the Pier at Bubba Gumps which was surprisingly really good! All I ever get from seafood places is a clam chowder bread bowl, but everyone else said the other seafood was really good too. The waiters came over to our table and made me stand up while they sang this little happy birthday type song to me and another guy who was celebrating his birthday as well. They told us it was a dance off but I was one of those lame participators who didn't dance. I just get so embarrassed with things like that, when a whole area of a restaurant is staring at you. At least I was smiling and enjoying it though, the other guy didn't even crack a smile the whole time they sang to us.
Sorry for not giving you a fun show, people of Bubba Gumps. haha.

Look how cute my little Mamabear is! I'm grateful for this lady, and the fact that she was able to give birth to a chubby little 10 pound 3 ounce baby 23 years ago. Yikes! That in itself is worth a celebration.

A couple days before my birthday Alex surprised me with this balloon, donuts, a card, and flowers. He really understands my true love for Spongebob. I wanted a birthday photo with my balloon so we took the first photo up above. Alex is always good at taking candid photos in between the dumb posing ones, and the candid ones usually always end up being my favorite. It was windy that day and my balloon kept trying to fly away and out of the photo, hence all the giggles I guess. 

Overall, it was a super fun trip and reinforced my longing to move to Southern California. So if anyone wants to find me a really cool, decent paying job in Los Angeles, I'm all ears. I'm also open minded to NYC as well. :)