Hogle Zoo

Salt Lake just keeps getting better and better. 

Get this, we live 8 minutes from a ZOO!!

Although I very much will never own a pet (see explanation here), ironically I really like zoos! 

Possibly because it's neat to see the variety all in one place. Foxes, polar bears, sea lions, giraffes - all within a 3 minute walk! 

Or possibly (probably) because back in high school Michael and I went to the zoo on a date and had a blast, so now I associate zoos with Michael and dates and fun!

Ya that's it :).

So... this baby elephant is 7 years old. AND STILL NURSING. 

Super hipster mama elephant right there ;).

Owen not quite sure how he feels about the carousel...

And Lydia didn't quite grasp the whole sitting concept, HA. Baby steps.

I'm a little freaked out by birds, but look at that color!!

I'm sure I'll be seeing lots of more of you this summer, Hogle Zoo!

Even though the boys take their last final today(!!!), they still are shadowing doctors and doing lots of research this summer, so we have some looong days to fill :). Cue swimming pools, parks, sno cone stands, and of course the zoo.

GIVEAWAY!

Giveaway time!!

To celebrate reaching 50 blog posts, we are giving away a $50 giftcard to the dreamiest of all the stores... 

Anthropologie!

Can I get a woot woot?!?!

I've really enjoyed this blog thing so far. It's been the BEST outlet; I love being able to sit down (after I've put Lydia to sleep and cleaned the house and folded the laundry) and just... write! It's also a fantastic excuse to go back through the 4000 pictures I take of my kid everyday ;). Aaaand I'm double counting it as a journal! As forgetful as I am lately aka ever since I got pregnant with Lydia, I really need some big-time journaling to help me keep track of everything our little family of 3 has been up to. 

So cheers to the blogging community. And thank you all for being so nice!! Your comments make my day and I love getting your texts/emails/messages saying how much you like reading through this little corner of the internet. Thanks for your awesomeness, I hope to continue creating thoughtful and real content. Sometimes pretty, sometimes messy, always random ;). And definitely realtalk.

Now! What you're really wanting to hear.

To enter the giveaway: 

Simply go to my instagram post here and follow the instructions. GOOD LUCK!

Giveaway closes Saturday, May 14th at midnight MST.

I Got Dressed {On Time for Church}

Twinning with our squinty eyes. Don't worry we planned it!

This is basically a How to Get Away wtih PJs at Church outfit.

Coziest maxi dress with the biggest pockets your hands have ever beheld.

With a huge cardi to wrap it all together and zip up no fuss gladiators. BAM pjs.

And I know I say this so much it's annoying, but I love Sundays!

Over and out.

PS  Tune back in later today for something exciting(!!)

Routines Can Be Good Things

You know how people always say, "I hate change!" ? 

I am not one of those people. 

Actually I am the exact opposite. 

I thrive on change. If something hasn't been stirred up for a few weeks I start to get antsy. I think our bedroom needs to be re-decorated. I'm going to fly to San Francisco. You need to chop my hair off right now! (Said to Michael at 11:45pm one night. Sad day for both of us.) Well a couple weeks back I started getting these promptings that I needed to get into more of a routine. Routines can house so much productivity and personal growth. Exercise, prayers, consistent story time with Lydia, the list goes on. I'd been feeling really strongly about this for a few days when Michael came to me out of nowhere and said, "I've been feeling like I need to be more on a schedule!" How awesome! So we've made it a goal (I feel like I always say this, haha apparently we need to set lots of goals* at this house to get things done), to both be in bed a lot earlier, around 9:30pm, and to wake up around 5:30am. 

And guess what?

I am loving it! 

Every morning our alarm goes off and it's still pitch dark but I throw on gym clothes and Michael goes to the basement to study. I get a good work out in, come back and make us breakfast and then a few minutes later my favorite little voice starts squaking. We always fight over who gets to go in and get her out of the crib ;). By this point its 7:30 in the morning and I already feel so accomplished! Granted, we are not 100% perfect, and we've only been doing this for a few weeks, but so far we've really liked this routine thing. 

* Speaking of goals, our goal of being silly is going strong! Lots of spontaneous froyo dates and one-way dance parties (where Michael breaks loose and I happily sit on the couch and cheer him on ;) ).

So yay for routines! What are some of your favorite ones? Funny bedtime rituals? Good exercise routines? Anything!

HAIR WE ARE FRIENDS AGAIN

My poor hair. 

It has really been through the ringer. From junior high till my sophomore year of college I had the same hair lady in AZ and she was fantastic. She knew how loco my stubborn horse hair was and she knew it would take 4+ hours every time and she knew it turned really orange if she didn't leave the color on long enough so she was always extra patient.

Apparently no one in the state of Utah could figure this out, haha! Even with all my attempts to tell them beforehand! Seriously I've been to at least 14 different people in the last 5 years and every single time I've left unhappy. Multiple color corrections, multiple attempts to self-correct (which I know is awful for my hair), multiple hats to hide the terribleness, multiple dolla dolla bills down the drain. I've gone from brassy to purple to grey to almost perfect but it looks like my roots are two inches grown out to straight up BLEACHED ORANGEY-YELLOW THINK STREET LIGHTS (to Utah's credit this was an AZ guy). 

And so now I present to you, the first time I have actually been in love with my hair for a looooong time...

WAZAAM!

Kissing my hair gal's feet. So happy!! I think the darker blonde is so much better for my skin tone and it wont' require as much maintenence so basically she nailed it. Thank you thank you Crystal!

Salt & Honey

Utah is such a hot spot for entrepreneurs, I love it! I think almost every day I find a new local insta or etsy shop.

Last weekend we went to the darling Salt & Honey Market - A Maker's Market.

Dozens of talented vendors set up booths full of incredible handmade goods! Everything from artwork to weaves to soaps and leather accessories.

Hanging mini succulents - fun!

I'm a sucker for a good pun.

All you need is love. 

False. The four basic human necessities are 

air, water, food & shelter. 

HA. For my Office-obsessed husband :).

May or may not be all too representative of my life.

This Maker's Market was such a cute concept! Can't wait for the next one :).

Thorns and Roses

Between Michael's final exams, and Lydia's new tricks (including tasting her food, spitting it out and then throwing it on the floor ;) ), life's been busy! And I like busy. Drumroll for a few pics and then some highs and lows to recap life around here lately.

I want her big eyes.

Spicy shrimp tacos with pineapple and a cilantro greek yogurt slaw! 

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, of course.

My favorite thing in the whole world is getting her out of her crib after naps. She's all warm and snuggly and (usually) happy, it's the best.

Deleting old pics because my storage is full when I came across this from Christmas in Hawaii! I need to get to a beach stat.

Bubbles for the win.

Yay for friends who in one breath talk about getting fit with you, and the next go get this^^^ with you.

Thorns:

- The doctor recommended mixing tylenol and chocolate syrup on a spoon for Lydia. HAHAHA I don't know how I thought this would work. Please picture chocolate syrup on every inch of Lydia's face, down her onesie, all over my workout top, smeared on my arms... it was a sight. Half frustrated that my squirmy child kept refusing her medicine and half impressed that one teaspoon of chocolate sauce managed to end up in so many places!

- Walked around Costco for a good 30 minutes budgeting out which frozen burritos were cheaper and still had some nutritional value because we are poor. Finally made a decision, waited in that eterni-line (why are they so long at Costco?) and finally checked out, when the cashier says my card expired 3 days ago. And I started crying. Full on tears. Really Annika? Crying?? LOL. Poor guy.

- Listened to some unsolicited advice from a 60-year-old man at the gas station about how I will get cancer from aspartame. Mind you this was at least 2 minutes long and this man was very very very large. So that was just awkward and I smiled and took his health advice with a very very very large grain of salt and happily sipped away.

Roses:

- I have the best friends. Sweat pants, no make up, swap babysitting all the time, no judgement, we even broke the tooting barrier last week, so ya pretty much we've made it.

- Busted out those frozen teething toys again. LIFE SAVERS.

- Teething, while a beast, makes Lydia an extra cuddly lovebug.

- Currently reading Mere Christianity again and loving it. C.S. Lewis is just so hilariously spot on with everything.

- For Mother's Day, Michael booked us a night at a hotel in Park City!! I'm so excited - it's right after his last final! So that will be a blast. We are debating if we should bring Lydia or not... I mean she's pretty adorable but we haven't had a night without the babe for... her entire life?? Ha. We will see! :)



PDA oops!