Darling Invisible Friends, have I got an Easter treat for you!

The wonderfully creative and incredibly sweet Whitney from The King and I is our featured creative woman of the week!  Whitney manages to balance being a full-time student, working, a wife and churning out adorable digital scrapbook layouts and quilting patterns.  A true old-fashioned girl, I’m lucky to be able to call Whitney a friend.  Every week she highlights a blogger she likes and always includes a thankful thought of the day at the bottom of her posts.  But don’t just believe me–read all about her!

I noticed you’ve got a lot of quotes about creativity on your blog. Tell me what being creative means to you.

To me, being creative isn’t something either you have or you don’t. Everyone is creative in one way or another, and there is no such thing as the “right” type of creative. Being creative means you appreciate the talents you have and cultivate the ones you would like to be stronger in.

I think being creative also means you have to just ignore the critics, especially the one that lives deep inside you, and realize that you are capable of great things. Being creative means being able to have fun with life. In essence, creativity is a way for me to highlight the things I love and grow mentally/spiritually.

I totally agree. What do you do to be creative?

I think for me being creative started with writing – stories, poems, essays, journaling. I always have a pen and notebook on me or I take notes on my phone and save them for a later date. As I got older and started taking photos, scrapbooking became a way for me to be creative. However, I’m more a digital scrapbooker than paper (I’m too neurotic for paper scrapbooking!).

I also really love fabric and all of the wonderful things that can be created from that. There is a mountain of fabric that has been screeching my name. And I’ve solemnly vowed that when I’m done with school in the spring,  my sewing machine and I are going to become best friends.


What are you studying in school?  What do you hope to do with it?

I am an American Studies major, which is an interdisciplinary focus on life in America and the people who live here. My focuses are in English, folklore, history and political science. Originally, I wanted to go to law school, but now I’d love to be a public folklorist.  I need a masters for that and am seriously considering getting it. I would love to get one!  Folklore – it’s everywhere and really is one of the best ways to gauge how certain peoples and groups view the world.

Tell me how you and the King, your husband, met.

We were set up by my friend, Jaimie, who happens to be the King’s sister-in-law. She said that she wanted a sister-in-law that she would like in the family, so she sent the King and I up a week after he got home from serving a religious mission in Brazil. I was so nervous, which was weird because I never really got nervous around boys before. I think I re-did my makeup and clothes three times that night.  It was a beautiful date. I knew that I could love him when he busted out in a full Scottish accent randomly as we were driving to his house.

If you could do anything, what would you do?  (Money and time are no object)

I would hole myself up in a cottage in the United Kingdom some where.  I would take photographs of everything I see and experience and write it all down. There is no other place that holds such fascination for me. It’s such a mystical land.

If you could invite five people from any time or place to dinner, who would they be?  And why?


1) My paternal grandfather. He  died before I was born and I’ve always felt really connected to him for some reason. I’d love to meet him and hope that he is proud of the life I’ve been living.

2) Jane Austen – I need  to know: Was there a real Mr. Darcy?! Also, what was that like writing in Regency England as a woman? How much of her writing is based off real events?

3) Alexander Hamilton – my personal favorite Founding Father.

4) Jesus Christ - I can’t imagine someone I could learn more from.

5) And last but certainly not least would be The King.   I would love for my Grandpa to be able to meet him and I’d like to show Ms. Austen that I totally one-upped her Mr. Darcy! And also, the King happens to be a fantastic dining partner.

What’s your favorite type of pie?

My family is really plain and boring when it comes to pie, so I have to say Pumpkin.

What’s your favorite food?

Rice and pasta! I use these as the base ingredients for the dishes I make. I also have a serious love affair with garlic; it goes in 95 percent of the dishes I make. I like to tell the King, he’ll know that I’ve never been turned into a vampire because of how much garlic I consume. And I heard somewhere that garlic is good for the heart, so really I’m just doing it to ensure I don’t become one of the living dead and to keep my heart ticking!

Is your faith very important to you?  How do you think it effects your creative pursuits?

My faith is very important to me. It is something I completely and absolutely could not live without. I feel that it gives me a map to guide my life by. As for how it effects my creative pursuits, a lot of things I enjoy doing have sort of become stereotypical to LDS women’s culture – scrapbooking and quilting. My faith puts a strong emphasis in personal history, so journaling and scrapbooking go hand in hand with that component.

What was/is your favorite subject in school?

English and history. Whenever I was in math class, I could feel my brain oozing out of my ears, which would explain why basic math is all I can do!

Do you have any pets?

Not physically with me.  But at the first sign of my parents’ weakness, Miss Min will be living with me and the King. My mom bought Miss Minn shortly after I graduated from high school – I picked her out and I helped take care of her, so I secretly consider her my dog, even though she’s at my parent’s. I adore dogs.

Where do you hope to be in five years?

With the King, where ever we end up. Hopefully with children. I’m really pressuring the King to only look at jobs that would situate me in a year-round warm climate. I don’t do cold.

What’s your best childhood memory?

My cousins lived just around the corner from me, so spending time with my cousins is my most powerful childhood memory. My two cousins, Jeff and Scott (who are twins) were always up to something and I was usually delighted to be dragged along. As I remember it, Jeff had an insane love affair with fireworks and lighting them in very strange places…

What’s the best date you ever had?

The King surprised me with Front Row tickets to Disney on Ice while we were dating.  It was wonderful.

What’s the best present you ever gave somebody?

I would have to say that the best present I’ve ever given to someone is when my sister and I surprised my mom with this diamond necklace she had been drooling over for months. We were so excited to give it to her.  We bought it in September and had to wait until Christmas. It was torture keeping that a secret, especially when we went to the shop and she said all sad-like, “Oh! Someone’s bought that necklace I liked.” I remember my sister and I looking at each other and you could just hear the internal “hee hee hee”.

What made you think of doing a “thoughtful thought of the day “on your blog?

I think that sometimes I get caught up in the things that aren’t going so well; the things that I feel I need (but usually just want).  Being thankful is a way to step back and think, “You know what? I’ve got a millions reasons to be happy with my life.” I also strive to be a positive person, and being thankful is a great way to achieve that.

What do you hope to accomplish with your blog?  What made you start blogging originally?

I started blogging originally, as a way to meet other married women.   I got married when I was really young- the first out of all of my gal pals. As much as I love and adore them, I can’t relate to being single anymore, just like they can’t relate to being married. Blogging is a fantastic way to meet people from all over the world that you share a common thread(s) with. I was also struck with how many amazing women there are out there. I mean, truly amazing women I wouldn’t have got to meet otherwise.

I don’t think it’s creepy.  I think it’s a really good idea!  What’s your favorite thing about blogging?

Meeting new people and seeing how creative and wonderful people are. I sincerely appreciate the women who I’ve come to know through blogging. I consider a lot of my blogging friends to be very good “real” life friends. When I’m talking to the King, I have to distinguish, “Okay, she’s my friend, but I’ve never met her because we’re blogging friends, but this is what’s going on in her life right now.”  Or I’ll show him pictures of my BFFs’ (blogging friends forever) babies and say,”Look how cute!! Babies!!!” I think he’s grateful I can vicariously live through other women and their babies.

I also consider my Invisible Friends to be real friends.  You have a feature called What I like about you Wednesdays.  How did you come up with that?  Why do you think it’s important to highlight fellow bloggers?

I came up with it because I think everyone likes to hear what is wonderful and good about themselves. I think it’s important to highlight the bloggers I’ve come to love so they know why I love them – the little things that keep me coming back for more.

Are you scared of Queen Bitty?

Never! I would consider myself a loyal admirer and ardent supporter of Queen Bitty. She’s fabulous. In fact, she should consider doing her own blog. I think she would have a very loyal following!

Queen Bitty will take that into consideration.

The cookie stealing Bunny wants to know if you have any cookies.

Yes, the Dosie-do’s from the Girl Scouts. You know, those delicious peanut butter ones? Want to share?

What’s your favorite holiday?

You know, every holiday as it’s happening is my favorite. Like right now, Easter, is my favorite, but in July it will be Independence Day. You can never go wrong with a holiday!! In all seriousness, I probably love Christmas the most. It’s such a magical time of year where people are the best versions of themselves.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever gotten?

Hmm… this could go several ways. From my parents: confidence in my decisions. From my sister: help, advice and the link to my past. From my friends: thousands of laughs and delightful memories. And most important, from the King: the life we have together.

Custard or ice cream?

Ice cream! Lovely vanilla ice cream!! Keep your filthy chocolate ice cream!

For more on the fabulous Whitney from the King and I, check out her blog!

And stay tuned, Invisible Friends!  We have a week of new stories, exciting adventures and tasty recipes coming up!