Blogtember | Day Fifteen: Moody

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Today's blogtember prompt is a fun one! We were asked to create a mood board.  I'm always dreaming of a home redo, so I decided to make my mood board based on some ideas for my dream home.  I'm not really sure if this is a mood board or just a collage of home things I love, but here it is.  I would love to do pretty much any room in my home and am very very slowly working on it.  Some of my favorite design elements are midcentury furniture, built in shelves, lots of white with pops of color, gallery walls, and polka dots in unexpected places.  I would love to have cognac leather furniture and a neutral bedroom with cozy textiles and white kitchen cabinets! Oh how I dream of having white cabinets.  Here's a collage of some of my favorite looks on Pinterest.

Blogtember | Day Twelve: Tradition Tradition!

Most of my family traditions center around Christmas.  Growing up we got pajamas and a special present on Christmas Eve.  My present was a snow globe.  I want to continue that tradition with my own family, except for a special present I want to give a book with our Christmas Eve pajamas.

I spent my elementary school years in Kodiak, Alaska.  My mom kept my sister and I home from school the first big snow every year. This meant we had the sledding hill all to ourselves and were able to be the first ones to leave footprints in the snowy field behind our house.

Blogtember | Day Eleven: Inspire Me

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Today's blogtember prompt is "how do you stay inspired?"  Looking through apps like Pinterest and Instagram definitely gives me a little inspiration when it comes to projects I want to do or food I want to make.  My favorite thing to browse on Pinterest is home inspiration.  I dream about what my home will (hopefully) some day look like.  I also love getting outfit and DIY inspiration.

Most of my inspiration for my day to day life comes from attending church on Sundays.  Even more so when I am teaching the lesson and take the time to prepare it.  Each week I leave with a renewed perspective and desire to live a little better.

I also get a lot of inspiration with lists! I love writing to do lists, goal lists, and project lists.  I think these lists help me to come up with more ideas and take action to accomplish them.  There's something about them written down that makes me want to get to work.

Blogtember | Day Seven: Reading List

I go through phases when it comes to reading.  I'll read books nonstop for a while and then nothing for months.  I haven't read a book for myself in a few months, so I"ll share some of my current reads to Dunken :)

Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Counting Kisses

Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear

Favorites:

Harry Potter: these books will always be a favorite of mine

Mama Do You Love Me: I grew up in Alaska and this book about an Alaskan girl and her mother has always been a favorite of mine.

Where the Sidewalk Ends: I love the imagination used in these poems.  My mom used to read these to Suzanne and I when we were little

Wonder

The Giver

My Side of the Mountain

Blogtember | Day Six: Currently...

...loving my newly cleaned house! I hope it lasts longer than a few days.

...hating the fact that our ac is broken for the second time this summer! At least the nights are cooling down though.

...smelling my delicious fall candle, Leaves from Bath and Body Works.  My favorite!

...listening to Group Love station on Pandora, or Christmas music :).

...seeing Dunken scoot and crawl around!

...feeling excited about my trip to North Carolina in a week! I haven't been back in 5 years.

...making bandana bibs.

...planning Christmas festivities with my sister!

...eating Oreos. Yum!

Another Aquarium Trip

When Oakley was here we took a trip to the aquarium.  When Jensen and I went earlier this summer we got a "bounce back" pass because not all of the displays were finished yet, so we were able to go again for free!

Dunken enjoyed it more this time than when we went before.  Last time he slept the whole time :)

Here's Jensen looking at this mission photo album with Oakley.

Blogtember | Day Three: When I grow up...

When I was little I wanted to be a veterinarian or a marine biologist.  There was a time I wanted to be a forensic scientist.  A trapeze artist was briefly on my list too.  I once had a dream I was a trapeze artist, so naturally I wanted to grow up and join the circus.  That thought didn't last long, probably because I'm not flexible ;).  I've always wanted to grow up and be a mother.

I'm technically a "grown up" now I guess.  My husband and I have a beautiful baby, a home, a grill, and automatic sprinklers (for some reason those sprinklers really made me feel like a grown up).  I still feel like I have a lot of growing up to do.  When I grow up I want to raise a happy family in the gospel.  When I grow up I want to grow a garden.  When I grow up I want to be an old lady that embroiders towels and pillowcases.  When I grow up I want a big front porch and big trees in my yard.  When I grow up I want to have a big family and a million grandchildren.

When I grow up I want to be happy.

New York is getting a pretty awesome missionary

Oakley was called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and reported to the Missionary Training Center August 6th.  He is serving in the NY, NY South Mission.  A few days before he reported to the MTC he came down to spend some time with Jensen and me.  It was nice to hang out with him before he left.  He'll be serving there for 2 years.  I think the weirdest part about the time he will be gone is that Dunken will be two and a half when get comes back.  I'm so excited for him to have this opportunity.  He's going to be a great missionary!

Blogtember | Day Two: Makes me Happy

Three posts in one day! And now I'm caught up on Blogtember :)

Fall  |  watching Dunken crawl and scoot around  |  cookies, especially chocolate chip  |  nail polish | scarves |  planning Christmas festivities  | pretty notebooks  |  the gospel  | funny cat pictures and videos  |  my eternal family  |  polka dots  |  bike rides  |  Facetime |  clean sheets washed with downy  | red lipstick |  cuddles with my sleepy baby  |  Dunken's giggles  |  fresh cut grass  |  Sunday naps  |

Blogtember Challenge | Day One

One of my favorite blogs Happily Ever Strader posted about Blogtember challenge hosted by Brave Love Blog and I thought it sounded fun, so I decided to join in (just a day late).  The challenge for September 1st is to write a little "About the Author" post like you would find on the sleeve of a hard cover novel.  Here goes!

Vivian Paterson was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. With a father in the Coast Guard she also had the privilege of living in Alaska and North Carolina. She currently lives in Utah with her husband Jensen, baby boy Dunken, and cat Pigeon.  She graduated from Brigham Young University, and currently enjoys her time as a stay at home mom to Dunken.  She loves blogging, crafting, and going camping and on road trips with her family.

The best time of year

September 1st starts my favorite time of year.  My real favorite is of course Christmas, but September means fall! And I sure do love fall.  Now the weather just needs to get the fall memo. :)  The official first day of Fall isn't until September 23rd, but school is back in and stores are starting to sell fall clothes and decorations so I'm definitely feeling in the mood for fall.  I've already been burning my favorite fall candle for a few days. 

Suz and Jordan and my mom and Rick are coming for Christmas this year and Suzanne and I have already started planning our Christmas festivities.  With my family here and Dunken this is going to be the best Christmas ever.  I know it's still months and months away, but I am already getting excited about it!

Also these pics have nothing to do with my post babbling about fall and my Christmas plans, but I hope you enjoyed the cute pictures of Dunken.