Hello Today + Lunch Date

Have you seen Scrapbook Circle's February Kit?  I'm very excited about it!  It includes products from a brand new company, Chicknidddy Crafts plus a few Scrapbook Circle exclusives. Of course, there are also plenty of products for other favorite manufacturers too.

Here's a look at the exclusive stamp that comes in the kit:

I've been having a lot of fun creating with this kit. So far, I've created 4 layouts and still have a bunch of product left. I'm thinking the rest of the kit will be used on a Project Life spread and then a few cards.

I created this layout last week on the same day that I snapped these photos. My husband works from home most days, so we are lucky to usually get a lunch date in once a week. Last week we hopped on our bikes and rode over to one of our favorite restaurants, Pita Jungle.

I think my favorite thing on this page is the little wood shaped heart confetti pieces from Scrapbook Circle. I just dabbed little bits of glue onto the page and then attached the confetti. They add some dimension to the page without adding much bulk. 

Hope you are looking forward to a great weekend! 

Layout Supplies /// Hello Today /// Right Here Add-on /// February Cardstock /// Hello Today Digital Cut Files

Today was Fantastic

Every once and a while I have a day that is just perfect. The photo on this layout is from one of those days.

During fall break last year our family was able to spend a few days in California with friends. This day started off with a 4 mile jog along the beach for me. I never run that far, but that morning, it just felt so good to move. It probably had something to do with the amazing beach views. We then spent time playing at the beach. I love watching my kids play at the beach!

Jennie and I found bikes in the garage of the house where we were staying and couldn't resist taking then for a spin down the boardwalk. They were pretty rusty and the brakeks didn't even work on my bike, but it was still a great ride. (We went pretty slow!)

Sunshine, bikes and the beach! I'm ready to go back.

Fun tip: we discovered an amazingly delicious and kid-friendly restaurant within walking distance of the place we were staying. If you are ever in Newport Beach, I highly recommend that you visit Mama D's and that you order the gnocchi with pink sauce. You will not be sorry.

Layout Supplies /// Hello Today Kit /// Right Here Add-on /// Gold Cardstock from this set /// Hello Today Digital Cut Files

Hello, Hello

It's been a couple of weeks since I last blogged and today I really starting missing it. Since I was missing blogging, I figured it was a sign that I should get back here and start typing! I have been busy creating things, connecting with friends and spending some quality time time my family. So far this year is sharing up nicely!

Today I thought I'd share a few fun things I've come across recently.

First up, I love this free cut file from Chickaniddy Crafts. Just stop by their blog for the free download. Ideas are brewing on how to put this to good use on a layout.

This heart snapshot mix print from Minted came to my attention today (via an email in my inbox!)

Of course, with my love of photos, this spoke to me and I decided to order a print for our family. At first I thought I'd fill this with photos of my husband and I and give it to him for Valentine's Day, but since we aren't big into gifts on that day, I decided to just fill it will favorite photos from 2013 and not have it be a gift. I ordered the smallest size (8 X 8) and I'm excited to have it arrive. I'm thinking about displaying it in my scrapbook room, but will wait and see once it arrives.

If you haven't tried Minted yet, I recommend it. We used them for our Christmas cards and they were fantastic. You can use this referral link to get $25 off your first order with Minted. Sweet!

I love this art print. It sums up my main goal for this year which is to intentionally connect with my friends and family more this year. I hope to be more mindful of the way I'm spending my time and more aware of the little things that are most important.

With the new year, I got myself back in gear and have been planning out our weekly dinner menus and doing the shopping on Monday each week. With our busy schedule every afternoon and evening, it make things run so much more smoothly when there is a plan (and food in the house.) I've recently discovered the blog Melanie Makes and it's a great resource for easy and delicious recipe ideas.  One recipe we tried was her Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches. Delicious!

One last item for today. These waffles are calling to me. I got an ice cream maker for my birthday last year and we've enjoyed mixing up several batches of ice cream (my recent favorite was Salted Carmel from this Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream Cookbook.)

I'm thinking fresh baked waffles filled with homemade ice cream sounds like a perfect treat. Do you think it could count as dinner and dessert all in one?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Wellness Challenge Winner

Last year during August, September and October my daughter, Audrey, and I joined a group of neighbors in a 12 week wellness challenge. I talked a bit about it in this post. We earned points throughout the challenge. And it was a real challenge. I ended up using 4 points and came in 5th place, but Audrey refused to use any points and she had a perfect score and won. In addition to a cash prize, she now has wellness challenge bragging rights.

To celebrate her win, my sister Michelle took Audrey to In-n-Out to enjoy a lunch with french fries (no fried food was allowed on the challenge), a hamburger (we were gluten, grain and daily free for the last three weeks, so the bun + cheese were a treat) plus a milkshake. Yum, yum!

Our friends are starting another wellness challenge next Monday and I'm still deciding if I'm ready to commit to no sugar and daily exercise for 8 weeks. Audrey is already signed up!

Layout Supplies /// This Life Scrapbook Circle Kit

I love Us

With all of the holiday activities this past month plus working on my December Daily and finishing up my 2013 Project Life album, I haven't had any time to just make a traditional scrapbook page. I've missed it! Today I had two hours and put I put two pages together. It was so much fun.

For this page, I pulled out my January This Life Scrapbook Circle kit. I've been so excited to use the "i love..." stamp and the woodcuts in the kit. It's always fun to see things I've sketched out become a real product that I can use on a layout.

This layout is about our 17th anniversary that we celebrated last month. We've make it a tradition to visit a fun novelty store (Smeeks) to collect a few stocking stuffers and then have our picture taken in their photo booth for the past several anniversaries. Sadly, Smeeks is closing this year and so our tradition is coming to an end. I'll have to scout out another fun photo booth place for our next anniversary.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Fav 13 in 2013

I thought it would be fun to take a look back through things I created in 2013 and share 13 of my favorites here with you today. There definitely were not as many layouts in 2013 as in years past. Life is busy with work and family responsibilities that I happily put before scrapbooking since that is where I want my focus to be. We shall see how the balancing act of life continues in 2014.

Besides time commitments to other things, I was also diligent with keeping a Project Life album in 2013 and that did take quite a bit of time that would have been spent on traditional layouts. But I feel the value of the pocket style documenting is also important because it tells more of our family stories, so that will continue in 2014.

Without any further ado, here's a look at some of my 2013 favs. (I threw a couple of PL spreads into the mix!)

It's been a few weeks since I've created a scrapbook page and this post is definitely putting me in the mood to create. I love seeing highlights of our year documented.

I hope you are looking forward to 2014 as much as I am!