Eerily on target

Okay, so I'll admit it. I'm a sucker for silly online quizzes. I can't pass them up. Just like I couldn't pass them up when I was a teen reading Seventeen magazine. Ahhh...yes, the good ol' days when my friends and I would cram in the Mom's Suburban (You know, the old school, tractor sounding Diesel that was 2-toned blue with wood paneling down the side. Yep, that Suburban.) Anyway, we'd cram into the 3rd row, waaaaay back there where Mom couldn't hear us, or so we thought, and take quiz after quiz on everything from "What's your skin type" to "Is he really into you?" or "What prom dress best suits you?" So I guess I've been a quiz-junkie all my life. But I think this one takes the cake. I couldn't have been more right if it TRIED.

And again, if you know me at all, you'll know that another passion I have is for interior decorating/design. I still swear that one day Mom and I are going in to business together. Right Mom??? (hint. hint. J &D Designs.) So when I saw that Virginia had posted this quiz link on her blog, I didn't even hestitate to go take it. It's 10 questions about your sense of home, your style, and how you should decorated accordingly. As I mentioned, my results were SPOT ON. Like scarily so.

You are a Bohemian Casual (I didn't even know that was a category!)



Bohemian Casual:
You are interested in creating a place where people feel relaxed. (Exactly what I'm going for.) You have a variety of interests and influences and so appreciate different styles, cultures, and objects. Your home is cozy, with comfy chairs, throw pillows and places to set a drink or a book. (Yep.) But it also feels creative and visually intriguing, because you have an artist's eye that allows you to find objects that appeal to you in a unique and personal way—whether from your travels or from a local shop. (That explains A LOT.) This gives your home a feeling of being laid-back (my middle name), and maybe even a bit quirky with its mix of pieces—some of which are classic, some handmade, some ethnic, and some just rich in meaning to you. (most definitely).

You value serenity. (Yep. That's me!) While there are probably a lot of interesting things in your home, they are joined by your taste or a certain palette that keeps them in harmony. You appreciate the beauty in simple forms. Whether fancy or plain, you appreciate things that are well made and function as well as they look. You also have a strong respect for the environment and craftsmanship. You care about how things are made, and how they are used. (True, true.)

Putting Your Style to Work!
With your style and needs in mind, here are a few tips that will help you make your home a little happier.

1. Your Design Challenge: ORGANIZE

bwahahahaha! I TOLD you this was DEAD ON! Even a stupid QUIZ knows that I'm not organized! Now THAT'S bad!!!
The front hall sets the mood for your entire home. Consider how to accommodate all the room's functions as beautifully as possible. At the very least you need a console check, and if you're short on storage, consider a dresser. check. Outfit the surface with nice trays and bowls for mail, keys and sunglasses. Yep, got that too but mine holds fake pears. Keep a trash can for immediately tossing the junk mail. Closet-door or wall hooks encourage coat and bag hanging rather than dumping. If you have children, try to give each a basket in the closet for hats and gloves. Riiiight. It's nice to have a chair or bench for changing shoes, a mirror for last-minute lipstick checks, and a lamp or sconces for warm light.

2. Your Happy Place
The more serene your bedroom feels, the happier you will be. I can't even BEGIN to tell you how much that is ME! Our BR is the palest of pale blues with a white duvet so it'd feel cloud-like and peaceful. A pretty coverlet over a big duvet makes the bed look smooth—and not all duvet-lumpy! GREAT idea! Totally doing this to my duvet. And, a blanket folded at the foot of the bed breaks up the big expanse of fabric. Got it. Euro shams—those big square pillows—are great for reading in bed, got those and a few decorative pillows can also be a nice touch. Got those too, I've just gotta USE them. Consider adding a basket or a small occasional table near your bedside table for books, papers, lotions, linen spray or whatever you'd like. Yep. Spot on again.

It goes on and on, but I'll let you off the hook and not make you read the whole thing. BUT it WAS extremely accurate. Scarily so.

AND I've done a LO about our house. Actually several, and yes, I know I've scrapped these photos several times, but I couldn't help myself. These are from the newest releases by Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker.

"Home" using the "Victoria's Street" line

See those thumbnail photos? Apparently they're totally "Bohemian Casual"! I never would've thought to consider myself "bohemian" in any way, but hey if the shoe fits...

And while I'm sharing, here's another LO with Nikki Sivils' "Sweet as Cherry Pie" line. It has nothing to do with decorating or style, but while I'm sharing my work for Nikki, I thought I'd throw this one in.

"You've gotta friend"

C and Kels running up the hill after a ballgame earlier this summer.

Well that's about all I've got for now. Thanks for letting me share my new lightbulb moment. Bohemian Casual. Huh. Who would've thought?!

Yum!

Just want to share yet another layout with you really quickly. I made another one with the July Urban Anthology kit, and knocked out some of my 4th of July pics too.

"Yum!"


I made This one to remember how Caroline enjoyed her watermelon at the lake over the 4th. She was sooooo funny! She acted as if she'd never tasted it before (which she had). After she inspected it and took a big ol' bite, she let out this huge AAAAhhhhhh! like it'd hit just the spot! So funny! So cute! And now every time we go to the grocery store she begs me to buy her some watermelon. hehe!

That's all for now. Hope you're having a good week!

A birthday, a sneak, and some layouts too

Well, today happens to be July 20th, which means the most wonderful man in my life is having a birthday today! We've got some fun plans for dinner tonight, and the girls are totally into the whole birthday thing (SK says it's her b'day today too), so they're having fun with it. And I want to wish him a very HAPPY happy birthday!

I also have some layouts to share that I finished up this weekend. I've LOVED playing with this Urban Anthology kit!

"We are Family"



This is one of my all-time photos of the girls with Josh's parents. They all look so happy to be together (which they are).

"Baking with Katie"

On Katie's birthday, she wanted to make her own cake, and have a helper or two too. The littlest helper didn't have the attention span, but the bigger helper LOVED helping and using the mixer!

And then I made this little "hi" card.

I just love the brown ruffle-y trim that comes in this kit! It's so yummy!

And lastly, Kari just posted the August kit sneak peek on the UA blog, and I'm a giddy with excitement! I can't WAIT to get my hands on this one!!



Well that's all for today. Off to go work on birthday plans!

Just some randomness

There's no real common thread going on here, just a lot of scrappiness I haven't gotten around to sharing, and a photo or two too just for good measure.

First up, this one. I made this LO for a game called layout tag that we did over at Noel Mignon, and really wanted to use some new Jenni Bowlin.

All-American Girl

Lots of sparkle going on here. The stars are all Heidi Swapp ghost stars that I covered with stickles, and then flipped over so they'd look like they're made with epoxy.

Second up is this LO I did for this week's 52 Sketches, sketch #29.



"She loves flowers"

I'm not crazy about my interpretation, especially after seeing some AMAZING stuff in the gallery, so I may do another one...

And then just a couple of shots from our day at the Coolidge Park fountains.


I may have gotten a few good pics, but that day was TERRIBLE, one of the worst I've had in a looong time. So much so that I won't bore you with all the details, but let's just say it involved the horrible heat, the fountains, a no show, car trouble, a run in with the cops, and absent-mindedly breaking a piece of my expensive Italian pottery. Yep. it was bad. Good thing the weekend was much MUCH better! ;)

Grandma's Kitchen

That's the name of this month's Urban Anthology kit, and let me tell ya, it's divine. I'm having the hardest time cutting into it, BUT when I have, I've LOVED the result. Here's my first LO, and it's quickly become one of my all-time favorites.

"Happy 4th"





Obviously, these photos were taken on the 4th of July. And yes, SK really is THAT tan. I'm jealous now, but when she's a teenager I'm sure C and I are going to more than envious when she looks like the Coppertone Queen and we don't. And I've put SPF 50 on her everyday!

The oversized "apron lace" scallops are a part of my Trendy Technique post over on the UA messageboard. You can check out my tutorial on how to make these here. There's actually a TON of inspiration over there, so head on over and see for yourself!

Lastly, I'll leave you with 2 of my favorite photos of the summer thus far. I shot these at the pool the other night, and are really indicative of how the girls friendship is growing. In fact, I just put SK down for a nap, and she refused to go without telling "her Carowine" goodnight. Precious. I love it. Love that they're friends and that they "need" each other already.




That's all for now! Hope you're having a wonderful Friday!

Some Color Me Daisy and more!

I've got some long awaited Color Me Daisy layouts for ya! This July kit is sooo much fun, perfect for my monkeys! You may also notice that all these LOs are of SK. Well, as Mom and I were cleaning up, painting and organizing my scrap space, I realized that I hadn't made NEAR as many LOs of SK as I have of Caroline. it's not that I don't take photos of SK, it's just that for some reason they don't get scrapped. SO these are all of her. Some are brand new, others are, well, from 2007 (ahem....the year she was born).

"New found freedom"



Yep, you guessed it. SK right after she learned to crawl. (Bad mommy for not scrapping these sooner!)

"Summertime Splash!"



Shots from the kiddie pool. I'm not so sure I've seen her THIS excited. Ever. The kit comes with 2 sheets of wonderful fabric, and I decided to make my own ruffle and add it along the bottom.

"Age of Discovery"





This light table at the Creative Discovery Museum is like a magnet to/for SK. She could stand at that table for hours. Unfortunately for her, her sister is obsessed with the dress-up stage in the back so we have to divide our time evenly.

But apparently SK's not opposed to dress-up either. Here's how she chose to go out of the house today. What a riot!

This lovely ensemble consisted of Dora (Christmas) pajama pants, the top half of a puppy dog Halloween costume, and her Baby Banz sunglasses. Nice huh? Her sister's only a tad bit better.


Cinderelly pajama top and Sleepy Beauty princess dress. Lovely. But then she decided to come inside. Apparently she'd rather watch paint dry. Literally.


(Sigh.) Just another day in the office for me!

July 4th recap and sketch #28

Welcome to the 1st installment of my favorite 4th of July/vacation at the lake photos! I've taken SO many, that I want to share just a few.

First day--they both fell asleep on the boat, so it turned into a marathon boatride.



Then Friday (the 3rd) we watched fireworks off the dock curtesy of the neighbors next door. ;)

On Saturday the 4th we put the girls in their pjs topped off with their life jackets, and went out on the boat to watch fireworks over the water. No shots from that, because I wanted to "be" in the moment.

Before we went out on the boat though, Dad and Kathy had their annual July 4th bash. LOTS of people, TONS of food, and some good quality moments too!





K, so those are all from the 4th. We ended up staying another 5 days at the lake. I'll share my faves from those days soon.

************************
Last but certainly not least, the new sketch is up at 52 sketches! This one's sketch #28, and my first official reveal as a DT member!



"1 Wet Sunday"

I just LOVE Julie's sketches, and this one was no exception. You'll probably remember these photos from our Sunday frolic in our over-soaked backyard. The thing I loved about this sketch was that it allowed me to use multiple wallet-sized photos, while still cramming in lots of paper too! :D

The deadline for this sketch is next Sunday, July 19th. And one winner with receive a $50 GC to www.scrapbookexpress.com. I don't know a single person who wouldn't like a $50 GC somewhere, so get those entries in so you're eligible for that fantastic prize!

That's all for now! Hope you had a great weekend! I sure did--nice and relaxing! :D

Babies!!!

The proud aunt in me HAS to show off my new nephews, so bear with me.

Baby A, Andrew, came in to the world Wednesday the 8th somewhere around 8pm. And he looks exactly like his daddy.

Andrew is doing great, and at last report, is to be going home sometime later today.

He was quickly followed by his brother Baby B, Gabriel, at 8:11pm.
As you can tell, Gabe had some breathing trouble because his lungs weren't quite ready for delivery. But he's been doing better lately, completely off the C-pap machine, breathing "normal" air, and hanging in there. They give him another day or 2 in the NICU, then he'll be able to go home and join his brother.

It was really sweet and endearing to watch my sister be a mom. The nurture and concern came very naturally for her. Her gentle spirit will be a great asset as she wades through the uncertain waters of 1st time motherhood. I'm very proud of her.

It was a bittersweet moment to do a little impromptu photoshoot with them, because Gabe was missing. But this are still some of my favorite shots from the day.




Hopefully I'll get to visit them very soon, and get some snaps of the boys together!

Well hello there!

Good grief I feel like I've been away for forever!! Seriously! At midnight last night (or this morning) it was so nice to walk in to a freshly cleaned house that was actually meticulously cleaned 10 days ago by my wonderful mom. Yep. That's right. The girls and I were gone for almost 10 days....some to the lake, then the trip to Jackson to visit my brand new nephews. And I've got TONS of photos to show for it. (sigh) It'll be a lot of photo-editing that I just don't have much time for. I also feel so behind. We have no food, and no clean clothes, but the house is clean! Yippeee! And it's BEEN clean, and STAYED clean. It's the little things that count, right? AND on top of that, I have a wonderful new scraproom that Mom also helped me put together! It's sooooo nice! Not finished, but nice.

I guess I'll start with those photos since they're easy to access, and chronologically they DID happen first.

A few little facts first.
1. My scraproom isn't really a "room" at all, more like a nook.
2. My Dad tore down a wall, and we converted a NEVER used bathroom in my laundry room (who puts a bathroom in a laundry room?!) into my little space.
3. So far we've only painted and gotten organized. There's still LOTS I want to do to it, but this'll do for now.






Things to note:
--that shower curtain actually hides our hot water heater. Had to get creative with that one.
--my albums will NOT stay there. But they're there for now.
--Future plans include shabby-ing up a brass chandelier that was original to the house, only it'll be spray painted white and shabby-ed.
--I see some fabric purchases in my near future, but I can't decide between
Sandi Henderson's cherries from her Farmers Market line:

or the Heather Bailey floral from her Pop Garden line.

I can't decide because the cherries seem a little too matchy-matchy and they're pretty trendy, but then the floral seems so formal...
Other plans running through my head include a claw-and-ball high backed chair covered in the fabric I pick out, and then an inspiration/bulletin board also decked out in some fabric. But like I said, we've only just begun. But it makes me soooo happy just to walk in there! And how many people can say that about their laundry rooms?! hehe!

k, enough for now. When I come up for air I'll have more photos ready. ;) Have a wonderful day!!!