Thank You Cards and Such...

So, planning a wedding is expensive. There are so many things to do and so many costs that add up... so finding a deal is practically cause for celebration!

One area that I found easy to cut costs was with the invitations and thank you cards... designing them yourself (or, in our case, having an amazing brother-in-law who is a graphic designer do it) and then just paying for the costs of printing saves a ton of money... turns out they charge you a ton for using their templates and stuff. Lame.

So, inspired by Thank You cards that looked like this

we ended up making a sign out of fabric (colored with sharpies) and then took the picture on our wedding day... then sent it to the printer (more on that in a second) and ended up with this

(those shadows are in my house, NOT on the thank you card)

Simple picture, printed on linen paper, with the personal stuff written on the back. And we spent less than a third of everything else we saw online.

We went through BYU's University Press, and it was so ridiculously inexpensive. You don't have to be a student to use it, you set up an appointment with one of the consultants and personalize your paper and sizes and inserts and everything else... it's great.

Because who doesn't like saving a little money?

Things to Make Traveling Easier

Now, by no means do I consider myself an established world traveler, but in my limited jaunts around the globe, I've found a few accessories that make my trip more convenient (and prettier!).

First, this travel wallet, it makes organizing your documents and such a breeze... comes in lots of colors, lots of little compartments and pockets, I absolutely love it.

Next, I discovered these packing cubes, and of course a quick look over at ebay (have I mentioned that I'm obsessed with eBay? It's amazing. Amazing, I say) produced this little gem for much cheaper. Instead of a giant suitcase with your belongings all jumbled around into clothes-and-shoes-and-jewelry-and-toiletry-and-whatever-else soup, you can keep things separated and organized. So perfect.

Then, I found these nifty little things called passport covers. Now, your passport doesn't necessarily NEED a cover, but I know that in Fiji mine didn't react so well to the humidity, plus it just makes it BEAUTIFUL, and who doesn't need a little besutiful in their life?? Etsy has several, or you can order a plain cover (again on ebay) and make your own! Nice, eh?

Pinterest also has lots of links to different travel websites with great tips and recommendations.

Gotta love the internet :)

Unexpected Vacation!!

So The Husband and I have been looking into cruises for the summer (think August)... but then found a deal for one in Feb. that was too good to refuse!!

So that means (I'm still trying to get it through my head) that in 7 weeks, we will be livin it up in the Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten... whoo hoo Caribbean cruise!!!

I've never been on a cruise before, so I'm So. Insanely. Excited!!!!

40 Days of Yoga

Alright internet, I've registered for a 40 day yoga program (register for free here) that you do from home, and it starts on Monday. I'm committed, guys.

I don't think I buy into the idea that I'll come out of this a renewed spiritual being, but I am excited for the chance to form new habits, explore a physical outlet that's always interested me, and see what kind of progress I can make.

Basically, for this digital 40 day program, they send you the yoga sessions, daily emails with tips and inspiration, and guided meditation sessions. As the "textbook," you read this book (which I've already downloaded to my kindle and have gotten a couple chapters into) and follow the program as outlined.

Seems pretty simple, right? I already have my yoga mat, block, and willing attitude... so let's hope this makes all my wildest dreams come true :)

dang, we're funny

Our First Christmas Tree

Oh the holiday season… so glorious… so joyful.

From the neighbor boy’s mini snowman

To the torching of the Christmas trees on New Year’s Eve

It’s been an exceptionally great season, especially since it’s the first one I’ve spent with The Husband.

I was a little overly ambitious and decided that store-bought Christmas decorations were for cop-outs (don’t worry, I’ve since changed my tune) and that I needed to go crazy with the Pinterest Board and make our little Christmas tree the best. Ever.

Well, I certainly wouldn’t say that I succeeded, but I DID end up with some cute stuff (like, a bajillion man-hours later).

My colors/materials were burlap, peach, and pearl (very Christmas-y, I assure you), so I started making ornaments:

with some help from The Husband

and then used some peach tulle to spruce up the lights

and voilà!!! Our poor, little, ghetto tree became our favorite little beacon of joy.

PS a burlap and peach-tulle ruffle tree skirt is in the making, more on that later.

My take on feminism

With all this “wear pants to church drama,” (click for links to the salt lake tribune, ABC, and of course the really fiesty FB page is down right now) it’s really made me examine how I feel about feminism in Mormonism. I guess I consider myself a moderate Mormon-feminist, which basically means I aspire to gender-equality within the bounds of our eternal gender-roles.

So I believe that men and women have different (but equally important) roles for which they were created, and therefore are never meant to be EXACTLY the same. I don’t wish to be “equal” to men if it means having absolute sameness. I do, however, disagree with the idea that the Church is perfect in every way and that the way we do things is always perfectly right. I believe that our doctrine is God-given and eternal, but that many of the structural and procedural decisions are made by mortal, awesome, well-intentioned, and imperfect men. We're meant to question and seek truth, not to follow with blind faith.

So, an example: YM vs YW programs. I don’t see there being an eternally significant reason that we were stuck doing crafts all the time while the boys camped, played sports, and had “high adventure” time. I don’t see that as an issue of doctrine, I see that as an issue of being traditional to the point of causing some gender inequality. And just because I think some changes/improvements could be made to the program, doesn’t mean I don’t think the Church is true.

I see problems like this, church-wide. Non-Priesthood-related callings that women can’t hold. Who gets to say prayers in which meetings. Women with sensitive subjects to discuss having to turn to a man instead of someone who could better understand where they were coming from. The fact that roles and responsibilities get skewed by some men (certainly not all, and certainly not sanctioned, but nevertheless all-too-common)… subtle things like “presiding in the home” being taken to mean that men get the final say in everything, or that the Priesthood-holding men (hear that? They are Priesthood-holding men, not the Priesthood. The Priesthood doesn’t pass the sacrament, the men do) must “take care of” the women, as if women are weak and incapable.

Those problems don’t mean the doctrine isn’t true. They just mean that there is room for improvement and change – that sometimes we let Mormon culture get confused with doctrine.

Like this pants thing. Nowhere is there a rule stating that women must wear skirts/dresses to church. Nowhere. However, that doesn’t mean that people haven’t been judged or asked to change for wearing pants. Not because they were actually breaking a rule, but because misinformed members or leaders have confused culture with doctrine. And I’m all about changing that.

But when a group of women who openly state that they have problems with the doctrine of the Church (some of whom have already left the Church) then start a movement to protest “inequality” that really won’t end until doctrine is changed...... I don’t see promoting and supporting that agenda as a healthy way for practicing, truth-seeking, obedient, sincere Mormon women who are also feminist to get their point across. Not if the point is to decipher truth from oppressive culture.



PS, I'll be wearing a skirt on Sunday :)

New Christmas Tradition

Tis the Christmas season!! (fa la la la la, la la la la) That means candy canes, gift bags, hot chocolate, snowflakes, Christmas lights, music, shopping, cards, and trees.

In the midst of all that Christmas-ing, it's easy to forget that it's not about all those little things...

So what to do? How to make Christmas about Christ, without missing out on all the fun of this joyous holiday season? (because let's be honest, who doesn't love presents and carols???) Well The Husband and I decided to come up with some new traditions (as this is our first Christmas as marrieds).

So the first tradition we've decided to put in place is this:

24 Days of Service. The idea is to keep our focus on the real reason for the season by doing at least one act of service a day for the month of December (preceeding Christmas day). We put a chart on the fridge:

and each day that we meet our goal, we check off the day and write in what that day's service was (you know, so we can go back in years to come and remember these things).

If you look closely, you can see that the first day isn't marked (you see, the idea came to me on the 2nd, so we'd already missed a day). In years to come, I think I'll come up with a cuter and more Christmas-y chart. But there you go. Our first Christmas tradition as a couple.

PS this many acts of service in a row will require some creativity. Any suggestions?