Apartment dwellers and homeowners with limited yard spaces don’t have to give up their green thumbs or dreams of becoming self-sustaining horticulturists. Many gardening options produce beautiful shrubs without taking up too much valuable ground space, such as hanging plants and wall installments.

In the past decade, California has been living under mostly drought conditions. Sure, we had a wet 2005-2006 year, but that was nearly 9 years ago! One such area where conservation needs to be occurring is landscaping.

However, I’ve known for a few years now that Los Angeles is just not a very affordable city for median income earners like myself. I’ve stayed because I have roots here and a good job, and it’s also what I know.

This past week, Mr. LH and I visited Zion National Park. It’s been a park on my list of “to-do’s” for many years. It was spectacular and definitely worth the wait…and drive.

Over the past few years, I’ve toyed with the idea of moving out of the second largest city in the United States to somewhere more affordable. Affordability isn’t the only factor in choosing these cities, so I’ve selected cities that have unique traits such as great restaurants, thriving art or music, or are known for their charm.

Though the second quarter has only just begun, I’ve decided to review how I’m doing so far, mainly because many of these goals I started in March and I’ve had a whole month to reflect on my progress. For a recap, my second quarter goals included