Around Here /// October 2013

It's been quite a while since I've done an "around here" post and thought today would be a great day to do it. Here's a little peek at what is going on around here this morning.

Keeping up with the Wellness Challenge.  I've settled into a great routine and definitely have some healthier habits than I had before the challenge. Three and a half weeks left. The last 3 weeks will be the REAL challenge because in addition to everything on the list, we are going gluten, grain and dairy free. Wish me luck!

Eating my veggies. Thanks to the Wellness Challenge, I'm making a more conscientious effort to eat more veggies. This is now my snack instead of peanut butter pretzels.

Planning our meals. This seems to ebb and flow around her, but this week I'm organized and ready to feed our family.

Reviewing the final touches for the November Scrapbook Circle kit. I love sketching out ideas and working with our designer to turn ideas into printed projects.

Sketching future ideas for Scrapbook Circle products. Lots of ideas brewing right now.

Being thankful. (Stamp coming in the Nov. SC Kit!)

Creating a lot of Halloween projects. Can't wait to share more.

Getting cozy under blankets now that we have cool morning and evening weather.

Exercising daily. Again, this is thanks to the wellness challenge. I'm on week 8 of daily exercise for at least 30 minutes. Most days it's a 3 mile run at 6 a.m. Other days it's yoga or a relaxing walk around the neighborhood on Sundays.

Hope you enjoyed a little peek into what is going on around here this morning.

October Stitch Fix

Okay, I'm still loving getting a Stitch Fix box every month. I think I have something for subscriptions!

What to take a look at what came in my box?

Corrina Striped Dolman Top

When I first saw this top/sweater, I thought it was okay, but not amazing. It's my personal rule that I need to try everything on in the box, so I gave it a try. It was actually better than expected and I really liked the large cuffs on the sleeves. But I didn't like it enough to keep it, so it was a no.

Jonathan Corduroy Skinny Pant

These were really dark brown pants that were super soft. I loved the feel of the material, but they just seemed to blah! Is that really a word? Either way, I think you know what I mean. These are going back.

Harlow Plaid Button-Up Cotton Shirt

I started having flashbacks to my college days and all of my Eddie Bauer flannel shirts when I saw this. Tell me I'm not the only one who had a collection of oversized flannel shirts in a variety of colors. Anyway, I tried this on and loved how it fit plus it was a great color combo. I haven't even worn it yet and Audrey has borrowed it, so I guess it has the teenager stamp of approval. Keeping it.

Ivy Tulip Print Tabbed Sleeved Blouse

Okay, this is a great shirt, but I've now acquired a few great blouses from Stitch Fix and I'm thinking I'm good for now. They all have a similar baggy fit with tabbed sleeves. Not that I don't like it, but I just didn't need another blouse. Sending it back.

Catina Belted 3/4 Sleeve Silk Dress

Saved the best for last. Love this rich green color and how the dress fit. I paired it with some colored tights and boots and think it's a fun look. I think I might try it with a different belt rather than the fabric tie, but I'm liking it. Ward photobombed all of the pictures with the dress, so he gets to make a guest appearance on the blog today!  Keeping the dress.

I love that I don't have to do any shopping and have a mix of new clothes arrive on my doorstep. Such a cool business idea. Have you tried out Stitch Fix?

*Stitch Fix links are referral links and I receive a credit on my account if you use my link to sign up. I'm not sharing to get referrals. I really do just love this service and want to share something I enjoy.

Project Life >>> August 11 - 18

Hello, hello! Just wanted to stop in a share another Project Life spread. Still loving this project!

This was our first full week with the kids back in school and apparently I didn't take many pictures. But I was able to find enough to stretch across the page and tell our story from the week.

Love her Selfies /// Choir Camp Overnight Retreat /// Airport Meet up with my Sisters + Mom

Enjoying the Best Sticky Bun Ever at Liberty Market /// Merit Badge Shopping /// BFFs /// Running

Another week is in the books. Love that.

Pike's Place Market

A couple of weeks ago Ward and I spent a long weekend exploring Seattle. One of my favorite places was Pike's Place Market. I loved looking at all of the beautiful produce and flowers. And the fish. And the food. And the people!

 I took a bunch of photos and decided to gather a few of my favorites for a layout inspired by our Glitz challenge to use triangles on a layout.

While we were on our flight to Seattle, I sketched out a bunch of triangle layout ideas knowing that once I returned home I'd be doing this challenge. Here's a look at my sketches.

I ended up going with my first idea, but will maybe give some of the other sketches a try sometime.

My Silhouette was put to good use on this page. I drew a triangle in the Silhouette program and then copied and pasted it to create this triangle background.

It was really fun adding bits and pieces to each of the little triangle sections. I'm thinking that the triangle pattern was so great to work with that I want to try another similar layout soon where I play around with a different shape.

Layout Supplies

Glitz Designs "Finnley" Patterned Paper: Floral

Glitz Designs "Finnley" 6 X 6 Paper Pad

Glitz Designs "Finnley" Giant Rhinestones

Glitz Designs "Finnley" Alpha and Words Stickers

Glitz Designs "Finnley" Titles and Accents Stickers

Glitz Designs "Finnley" Triangle Washi Tape

Glitz Designs Triangle Roller Doodle

Glitz Designs Plus Roller Doodle

Glitz Designs "Hello December" Plus Washi Tape

Glitz Designs "Wild & Free" Heart Washi Tape

Week in the Life Photo Book

Last month I joined Ali Edwards in her Week in the Life challenge in documenting our family life by taking a lot of photos and journaling about things along the way. I posted many of the photos to my Instagram account, but didn't post everything because I didn't want to be annoying!

Since I had a great collection of photos from the week, I decided to get them all printed in a little hardbound book.  I'd heard good things about Persnickety Prints and decided to give them a try and ordered one of their Insta mini books.

The ordering process was really easy and I'm very happy with the results!

Initially, I'd thought that I'd add in journaling and embellishments after receiving the printed book, but I decided that I like it just the way it is with only photos. So there you have it. Our Week in the Life photos are organized and printed. Love that it was such a simple project.

Playing with Marbles

Happy Thursday! Today I want to share a layout celebrating a moment when two of our kids were happily playing and imagining together. Thankfully they just kept playing while I snapped a few photos of them playing marbles on our family room floor.

These photos were taken at night and the lighting is pretty poor for photo taking in our family room, so needless to say, they weren't the best photos. To remedy the photo issue, I changed them to black and white and they were then useable pictures.  Plus with the bright yellow background, I liked the contrast with the black and white photos.

This layout is up on the Glitz Designs blog today featuring the giant rhinestones. I love this embellishment!  They are slightly dimensional and come with a cool variety of designs. Love that. On this page, I misted the page and then placed the rhinestones so they were scattered along with the mist.

Thanks for the visit today!

Layout Supplies

Glitz Designs “Finnley” Drip Patterned Paper
Glitz Designs “Finnley” Word & Alpha Stickers
Glitz Designs “Finnley” Whatnots
Glitz Designs “Finnley” Bits and Pieces
Glitz Designs “Finnley” Giant Rhinestones
Glitz Designs “Finnley” 6 X 6 Paper Pad
Glitz Designs “Wild & Free” Rubber Stamps

Project Life >>> August 3 - 10

It's another great day for sharing a couple of Project Life pages. A few weeks ago I was current on my PL spreads and now, guess what? I'm behind again. That's totally fine because I've found that I work best on this project in spurts and can get a few spread done in a couple of days once I'm in the flow.

Here's a look at the beginning of August which included the first day of school.

I still love this project!

First Day of School

Taco Night with Friends /// Piano Practice /// Carpool /// Stitch Fix

It was a pretty low photo week, but I was still able to fill in the pockets. I love that this gives me a place to journal and share little pieces of our everyday family life.