The Simple Life

valentine mini book...

nothing new to share today, but this book that i made back months ago {using this kit from House of 3}...just sharing it now!

hopefully i will have this baby this weekend!?

 
 
 
 

a few favorites...

i am in heaven looking at all of these fun bowls...

i wish i could have all the polka.dot ones!

 

this is a lovely sign!

 
  
too bad they were ridiculously priced!

oh i ♥ polka.dots!

december daily album...

yesterday, i started my cover for this...

 
 i know a bit early, but i want to have it all put together, so that i can enjoy each day in december! and have a finished album at the end of the month! i have had all this stuff picked out from my scrapbook stash and sitting in a bag for 2 years now! i was going to start this in december of 2008, but it never happened...then i said the next year for sure, and then we moved... so now here is another year, and i'm gettin' r done :)

the december daily album is a concept that Ali Edwards started several years ago...i've been excited about it ever since! you can view her albums from each year on her blog, i love them all!

these are all the papers i picked out to use in this album, a mix of old and new, vintage and my favorite celery/olive green color.

 
 this is my cover...i'm using Teresa Collins bracket cover, it already comes red! the inside pages will be a mix of different sizes, no bigger than 8x8. i still can't decide if i am going to bind it now, or at the end?  i'm working on each page now, so that when december comes i can just add my pictures and journaling for each day. i plan on using Ali's december frames as well as a few other digital things of hers...

it's already making me excited for the Christmas season!

33...

My best friend turned 33...almost a month ago now! We celebrated with dinner at Tucanos, mmmm...the brazilian lemonade is the best! He actually made some today, using this recipe! you should try it! He misses having feijoada and farofa every day! We went to Brasil back in 2003, I think? Now I'm forgetting...anyway, the food was good, but I kept saying it would have been better with tortillas and salsa :)

 
 
 These two girls absolutely love their dad!

And we attempted our family picture for the year...

I can't believe that I still haven't taken family pictures...it's quite ridiculous! I always said I would get family pictures taken regularly, and I have failed! That is my goal from now one...

I stayed up late and scrapbooked these pictures a couple nights ago...now it's one of my favorite layouts! I will share tomorrow :)

my little mascara monster...

Whenever I hear the sentence "mom, what did Isa do?"  I always know she got into something! She's always so sneaky! A couple weeks ago, she got into my mascara AGAIN, this has happened too many times to count!

First she wouldn't look at me, then she handed me back my mascara, and when she looked up at me I could not stop laughing! Take a look for yourself!

And notice her 'beauty mark' unfortunately she wasn't born with one like me...and my mom and sisters, we get it from our Grandma :)

 
 
Then she wouldn't look at me again...

 
And wondered why I was still laughing at her and taking pictures...so she covered her face...yeah, okay she knew what she did, but she didn't know what she looked like!

   After wards I took her to the bathroom to show her what she looked like in the mirror, and at first she was smiling and laughing, before she even looked at herself, then she took a look and had to do a double take...then she pointed at herself, and then got scared! Hilarious I tell you!

 
Here is where Gulianna was telling her that she was a monster, and roaring at her...then she got mad!

 
Luckily I had some make.up remover that I haven't used in years...and we cleaned her up! She's definitely a little stinker!  

just wanted to share...

that if you go to groupon.com you can get a $50 gift card to The Gap for only $25.00! You have to hurry though because the deal ends tonight!

You have until Nov. 19th to use the gift card at any Gap store, not valid online though...

...Plus if you use this link, I may get a credit towards my account ... yup, I know I'm selfish :)

Thanks!

finally...

a park! these 2 little girls are so happy to have something to play with in the backyard! thank you jeremy and amy! although they still go for the lawn mower tractor too :) they came home to their "park" after we went swimming the day after Gulianna's birthday, big smiles from both of them!

this is Gulianna seeing it for the first time!

 
they love sitting at this little table inside! 
 
 

 
 

  by the end of the week...they were both sick, same with Levi, no fun being sick during summer! and now they are better, and i'm starting to get sick, i'm trying to fight it though!

we are off to go swimming as soon as Isa wakes up from her nap! it's been 2 whole weeks since they've gone, and Gulianna is dying to wear her new tinkerbell swim cover up, towel & flip flops to the pool, she's been wearing it since Saturday night! we had her candy birthday party on Saturday, {hoping that i would have had the baby by then, so my parents could make just one trip!} but still no baby!

Old Scrapbook Layouts...

Some days I would feel sorry for myself because instead of working and running a store, I just wanted to be home scrapbooking for myself...

but then I put together all my finished pages from the last year {and some from the year before}...and I actually did scrapbook something!

that's a lot of layouts! and I didn't even count them...dang it!

 
And now most all of them are put in sheet protectors and into my albums! It's about time! I did run out of sheet protectors and I need to buy some more 12x12 albums one for 2008 & 2009, and I guess this year too :)

I made a challenge for myself that I am not going to buy anymore scrapbook stuff and use what I have, with the exception of the basics like adhesives, albums & sheet protectors!

Oh...and House of 3 digital stuff doesn't count :)

But then I remembered that CHA was just a couple weeks ago, and I thought of all the new product coming out! Ahhhh! Does it ever end? It's an addiction I tell ya! I will allow myself to buy some of the new Parisian Anthology collection!

Any way... I repaired a couple of pages that Gulianna got into while they were displayed at my store...she has ripped off so many flowers off my pages!

 
 
here are some of the layouts that I put into albums...

 
 
 
 

this one is one of my favorites! love this hs paper! {scrap lifted from Keisha C.}

  fun butterflies!

 
and I love this one too! I had forgotten that we used to call Isa 'Happy' because she was always such a happy baby! This is why I scrapbook!

 
{scrap lifted from Heidi}  

 
these 2 pages wouldn't stand up together...

 
 
and I love this line from Making Memories...5th Avenue! one of my very favorites!

So I've been trying to get even more organized...I thought I already was :)

But now all my pictures that are on my external hard drive are organized by date. I already had them in folders by year 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010...but now when you click on each folder there is a separate folder for each month and then when you click on the month each folder is organized by the exact date that the pictures were taken! And I have a lot of pictures! This will help when I am scrapbooking...because I remember events by dates, and I always stamp the date on my scrapbook pages too.

Yesterday I spent most of my day going through my scrapbook paper, and got rid of about 2 inches worth :)

Remember this post? yeah...what a waste! 

Just trying to get rid of what I know I won't use... and yet, there are lots of papers that I don't want to use, because they are just for looking at! Any body with me here? :) I went through my Christmas paper and got rid of a ton...and then I went through my Halloween paper, and I love it so much and can't part with it! I love Halloween! There was paper that I could have gotten rid of...but I bought it for specific pictures...so I need to just hurry and use it!

Okay...back to organizing!

eight.nine.ten...

Wouldn't that be a nice birth.date for this little one: 8.9.10?! I'm tired of trying to think of a 'significant date' that this baby will be born! I always thought Isa was going to be born after Christmas or before New Years...but that never happened, and then she was born on the 16th of January! I never thought of that one! I was born on the sixteenth of May, and my dad on the 16th of December! Anyway...just wishing this baby would be born already :)

today...

 
Hiding from my family...they are all sick, and I'm not! Levi has been in bed all day {watching movies & sleeping}...Isa has taken a couple naps...and Gulianna has been watching tv and playing with her babies. So tired of wiping noses, I hate when they are sick!

Now I am trying to clean up another mess in my scrapbook room! I've been putting a stack of layouts in page protectors...and into albums! I now need a few more 12x12 albums!

I took some pictures of some layouts before they went into my albums...I'll share tomorrow!

Good bye white walls...

So on Tuesday...I decided that I'm not waiting for an approval on paint colors...I'm just going to paint. Starting with the girls' room, and it looks so much better!

I stayed up till 2am...Levi will finish all the edges this weekend :)

 
 
My checklist for their room:

• hang metal flowers & curtains
• paint bed frames
• paint nightstand
• sew ric rac on bed skirt
• buy ribbon for picture frames
• buy brown sheets & a pillowcase

I still haven't for sure decided on a color for the bed frames...I think I am still going to go with an off white, unless someone has a better suggestion! We have the same bed for Isa, but we need a mattress for it...and for now she sleeps in her crib! We finally kicked her out of our bed a month or so ago :) I also need to get some picture frames for Isa...but Rod Works doesn't have that same red in the frames anymore! I bought those when I was pregnant with Gulianna. Plus I never got her pictures taken last fall like I wanted too...I need to hurry and do that!

  

Proof I've been scrapbooking...

I have made a couple layouts here and there...

These are my most recent ones that I made last weekend, and I even used some older Making Memories paper!

 
 
 
I loved using these page protectors from We R Memory Keepers...I've been wanting to use them forever!  

I glue dotted the flowers on top of the page protector... 

 
 
 
and I even made a couple cards with my scraps...

 
some other layouts I made a while ago...

 
part of my journaling reads:

"Sometimes I feel that I have spent more time organizing my scrapbook stash than actually scrapbooking...But it makes me happy knowing that everything has a place!"

And that pattern paper strip says... "Time you enjoy wasting, is not wasted." Ah yes...fits perfectly! Because I really do enjoy organizing my stuff...by color, by manufacturer, etc...it's just so exciting!

 
I love this color combo together!

 

And I've even added some pictures to my Summer Mini book too!

Now I'm trying to get my scrapbook room back in order...between fabric and paper...my little table is piled high!   

I did it...

Can you believe it!? I followed a pattern and I actually sewed something!

Not saying that it wasn't frustrating or anything :)

It seems that when I read any sort of sewing patterns my brain just shuts off. I don't get it, I don't want to understand it, I just want to make the project and see the finished result...in 5 minutes lol! I am simply amazed at how much sewing knowledge my husband has... he has been very helpful! Sewing and cooking are two things that I did not care for learning about when I was growing up. Other than that I can do everything!

I made this cute little bag a couple weeks ago...I was going to make one for each of my girls, but then realized that I wanted it for me! So now I claim it as my library tote bag...we finally got library cards last week!

 

I love this fabric! Pattern...colors...everything! It makes me happy just looking at it! The pattern was designed by Tiffany...thanks so much for it btw!  She has such fun bag patterns, so check out her etsy shop... I used the Suzy Q Tote bag. I still have to sew the ruffles together on the sides...oops!

she's three...

Gulianna turned 3 on Sunday! I can't believe it...of course everyone says that but it's true...one minute they are just born...and the next they are doing everything on their own!

We went to church and then afterwards Levi made some homemade pizza. He asked Gulianna if she wanted some orange soda, she said yes...then she asked but I need my water :)

Then Levi attempted to blindfold her but she freaked out...and ripped it off, so we just walked her out to the backyard to give her and Isabella the biggest birthday present ever!

This is where Isa said 'happy birthday nanna' in her own way!

They were super excited! It's not a jeep it's an FJ Cruiser! A princess one too! And it has a real fm radio...they were already fighting over the stations!

Getting driving lessons from dad...

And this is what they both looked like...poor Isa getting whip lash!

 
  
Then Gulianna helped me finish baking her birthday cupcakes! I put 3 candles on her cupcake...and she said "but mom, it's not a wish make?" what? she was meaning they weren't lit, so she could make her wish! too funny!

 
 Gulianna was shy when we sang Happy Birthday to her!

Enjoying cupcakes!

notice how they have to eat their cupcake :)

my girls love cupcakes! mmmm! Gulianna loved her special day...and her new dress, she's been putting it on every day! We are having Gulianna's special birthday party in a couple weeks, hopefully everyone can make it!