r&s / March 2013

he didn't have to fly weekends all month

she enjoyed four weekends of 'us'
they pretty much fell in love with March
she picked out the perfect sofa
he measured to make sure it fit in the truck
they drove to Ikea in ATL and had it assembled in 30 minutes
she kept eating healthy and running
he got a promotion at work
they mapped out what they wanted for the next two years
she worked in the yard most weekends
he helped her build a garden bed
they watched the first few seedlings sprout
our little sister came for a weekend and it was the best
they made blueberry ice-cream, from scratch
she felt like March was good for 'us', but hard on her heart
he held her hand at the ER and prayed for her grandmother's health
they talked about deployment
she cried some tears
he assured her she could do this
they made lots of vacation plans for the next 10 months they have together

these days

new ikea furniture // rainy day + new porch setup // morning love notes // new passport photo // daily run // great wedding gifts // well trained pups // buying my car from my mom for $1 // family walks // rob's parents getting a puppy // finally framing our honeymoon print // my little sister visiting for the weekend // pink pants and chambray on a dreary day

Love One Another

Just stopping in to let you all know that Kara Haupt is having a giveaway on her blog. I love being a sponsor on IJME and I'm giving one of her readers a $30 gift certificate. Check it out if you are interested, if not take a moment to appreciate her amazing photography. I love when she photographs my products, I really do.

And because this isn't a political blog, the title will be the only reference to this monumental day. No matter what you believe or believe in, we should all remember the golden rule.

motivational monday no. 1

Back when I worked down at the Gulf I always provided motivation during the morning meetings. Most of my co-workers kinda made fun, but I kept at it because I think it helped. So here we go!

**quote from Lululemon website**

And The Winner Is...

Please e-mail me :) Congrats!!

A Quick Runner's Schedule

As I was planning out our running schedule for the next few weeks (if I don't put it in writing I don't ever commit), I came across this training schedule. I liked it not only for the great design and layout, but because it's a great guideline. Even if you aren't training for a race you can use this to get an idea of rest days, cross training days and cut back the miles to where your body is currently. Let me know if you have other running schedules you follow??

Pin It to Win It // Contest

Who is ready for a contest to win a $30 shopping spree at Indie & Chic?? Yay!

Here's how!
 - Head over to IndieAndChic.com
 - Pin any item from the shop
 - Make sure to pin it with #IndieAndChic

The $30 gift certificate is good for anything in the shop and shipping will also be FREE.
I'll announce a winner Monday, March 18th. Good luck!!
(each pin counts as one entry, max ten entries)

Project Life 2013 // week 3

Week 3 // Getting in my groove with this project. Also now have the Seafoam core kit to work from. Mostly photos this week and kept it simple. Documented our last few days in Italy and then our travel days. 

The 2nd half of the week I documented the chaos of my studio and the snowfall. Added some product photos to document my Very Jane sale going on and the new headbands I made for the shop. 

Gold star is from Studio 112 $1 packs at JoAnn's. I still have about 8 more to use up, so amazing these are so inexpensive. Still using the Basic Grey Chipboard Accents, not sure what I will do when they are all gone. 

Trying to get caught up and not lose momentum. Really ready to document the weeks where I have my iPhone, such better photo quality. I'm finding that not using the Studio Calico kit inserts really has cut down on my frustration with pieces showing through. However, my Selphy printer, prints slightly smaller than the 4x6 inserts that come in the core kits. Embracing the imperfect and moving on. 

Supplies // Seafoam Core kit, Elsie Joy Quote Cards, Basic Grey Chipboard Accents (Hey You, Hey Girl), Making Memories Tiny Alphas, Super dated labels (not sure where they are from), Basic Grey letter stickers (again very old), Studio 112 Star Accents.

See more of my Project Life pages here // Cover // Week 1// Week 2

project life 2013 // week 2

Week 2// Probably my favorite week so far. Wedding week! I didn't really document any wedding photos yet, I will add in multiple spreads once we get our photos back and I'm caught up. I tried to document the little things that wouldn't make it into a wedding album or been seen in professional photos. Picture with our florist, polaroids from wedding dinner, business cards, hotel papers, etc. I also added an insert with a map of Lucca, Italy and on the back side made another place to keep all our receipts and mementos.

I cut up my name tag that hung on my wedding dress bag and added a piece of my wedding dress (from the hem that got cut off during alterations). I made a quick a dirty Italy map and punched a hole where Florence was and then a heart for Lucca. I had some great photos this week from others and I included those. I also love that I got to include our receipt from the U.S. Consulate for wedding fees. Where else would I have been able to display that??

Thoughts this week.
-Still totally in love with this project. So much fun working on our wedding spread and remembering all the details of the week.
-So glad I purchased the Canon Selphy. So simple and easy to print a photo immediately with no delay. Not sure I'd get anything done without it.
- Getting in a better groove design wise and trying out new techniques. Hoping next week isn't too hard since I won't have 'stuff' collected like I did for the first two.

Link me to your PL spreads. I love seeing them!

supplies // Studio Calico February PL Kit (found a partial kit on ebay),Amy Tangerine Thickers Muse, Making Memories Tiny Alphas, Love Elsie Chipboard Frames, Basic Grey Hey You and Hey Girl Chipboard Stickers, Basic Grey Fact, Fiction & Hey You 6x6 Paper Pad, Elise Joy Quote Cards, LaDiDah Knick Knack Stickers

See more of my Project Life pages here // Cover // Week 1

Rainy Day, Happy Heart

These photos were sent to me this weekend. Rob's sister is finishing up all the edits of our wedding and reception photos and she knew these would mean a lot to me. My grandmother has been in the hospital since Wednesday, so the first photo really tugged at my heart. I'm so blessed to have both my grandparents at the age of 24, but with that comes lots of worry and responsibility when they are sick. I watch my mom manage all of the bills, bank accounts, medicine and daily tasks that both my grandparents need. It's so hard to watch two people that in my eyes made the world go round, start to diminish and slowly slip into people I don't know.

My grandmother has alzheimer's disease. We've known for years, but the disease just rips apart your family. My grandmother, or as we all call her Gannie, can't even remember seeing me in my wedding dress. Rob and I sat with her in the ER for three hours the other night and she kept asking who Rob was. It breaks my heart. I miss her. I miss getting smoked in card games and hearing her nag me about wearing a coat. She isn't the same person anymore and there are so many mixed emotions with that.

So when these photos came, it made me smile. She was there. She saw me in my wedding dress. She saw me have my first dance with my husband and the way he looks at me. She was there. And though she may not remember it today, somewhere in her memories I know that she remembers. I'm so blessed that she isn't in pain or suffering, and that my grandfather can visit her every day. I need to remind myself of this when I'm feeling like 'it's not fair' and look at these photos and know she was a part of one of my happiest days. I love you Gannie.

Views from My Desk // no. 3

Been awhile since I shared one of these. I've actually gotten the pegboard over my desk organized, guess that photo will be in the next update. This room is where I spend my free moments and I love it! I'm so happy with the arrangement and the flow. I've been pretty productive in here lately, which feels nice after being on a creative hiatus from October-January.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Rob and I are headed to IKEA to get a  new sofa with our wedding money. Rob has never experienced IKE, so I'm pretty excited to see his reaction.

project life 2013 // week 1

Catching up as quickly as I can. I had a weekend all to myself and got a lot done. I was pretty nervous since the first week of the year was basically our honeymoon, well pre-honeymoon, in Italy.

Week 1 // I actually had saved a lot of receipts and papers from our trip (PL is great for hoarders) and so I had more to work with than just photos. I found a template to print on my cards, which I LOVE, then just added some tiny stickers to dress it up. I cut down our boarding passes and used an ancient Love, Elsie chipboard frame. I added an insert this week, that isn't totally finished. I need to have a 12x12 print made, easy enough. I used a map of Florence that Rob and I carried around the whole time, I could never have thrown it away.

The other half of the spread. More photos, tickets, journaling, a quote card, etc. I tried to keep it pretty simple and coordinate with the 12x12 photo that will be on that side of the insert. I used an envelope in one pocket to hold all the other papers I didn't have room for in my spread but couldn't part with. I love that about this project!

Thoughts this week.
Pros:
- Love how I have a place for all the 'stuff' I collected while in Italy. I like that it captures the every day of our trip and how laid back it was.
- I picked up some supplies 70% off at JoAnn's and having paper has made all the difference.
- I keep thinking about how amazing this is going to be to look back on. We all forget the little details after awhile, but it's all captured here.

Cons: 
- Still working out paper issues. Found out the Studio Calico papers differ from the regular core cards, I believe they are correcting that issue.
- I do struggle with not adding too many photos and coordinating colors, it can look like a mess pretty easily if you aren't paying attention to how the spread works as a whole.
- I find my inserts sometimes want to escape the pockets, quite annoying, must let go of that.

LOVE this project! Onward!

Supplies Used // Studio Calico February PL Kit (found a partial kit on ebay), Amy Tangerine Thickers Hello and Muse, Making Memories Tiny Alphas, Love Elsie Chipboard Frames, Elle's Studio Chic Date Tags, Basic Gret Hey You Chipboard Stickers, Heidi Swapp Journaling Spots, Basic Grey Fact 6x6 Paper Pad, Elise Joy Quote Cards.