project life | weeks 42+43

{Oct 14-20}

full spread
This year is going by insanely fast. I am happy that I didn't take the photo-a-day approach to my album and that it just contains random stories about the week.


left side
Since I now have a dedicated NYC album, I am still trying to work out what I want to include in a regular PL album and what to save for the travel album. Yes, life is hard, right?


right side
I think that photo of my sister is so funny - really captures how she is feeling these days from keeping up with 2 boys under the age of 3!

{Oct 21-27}

full spread no inserts
Last week was very full.


full spread inserts right side
I have been trying to keep my additional pages to this album at a minimum but with the concert and Halloween more photos had to be included!


left side
I actually took some pretty decent photos of Madge with my point-and-shoot camera. Still don't have the cahones to sneak in the dSLR; not sure how I could disguise it anyways!


insert 1, front and back
I cut down a 6x6 page protector to fit some ephemera from the concert. Love that I have place to put the stuff I collect!


insert 2, front and back
I bought some of the smaller page protectors to fit the instagram pics.


insert 3, front and back
And I definitely wanted to include lots of photos from our Halloween celebration.


right side
I focused on some of the people that we love in our life on this side of the spread.


full spread, inserts left side
And we're all caught up...for now ;)

{My thoughts and prayers to everyone on the East Coast - stay safe and dry!}

weekend casual | happy Halloween!

We were inspired this year by Burning Man to go all out for our costumes this year and I love that our friends followed suit!


After all, it's not everyday that we can wear as much glitter and guy liner as we would like. And one good thing about the iPhone not working well low light situations - I take out the big camera and take much better photos.


The hubs definitely made an incredible transformation.


And I was the angel I always am (ha!).

Happy Halloween! I would love to see your costumes :)

currents

time: 3:20 PM
location: our dining table a.k.a my scrap desk
eating: seaweed salad as afternoon snack
drinking: Fresca on ice
hearing: the clothes in the dryer
waiting: to get ready for Halloween tonight
hoping: my eyelashes last for longer
loving: that I've already documented the MDNA in our Project Life album
wishing: it won't be too cold tonight
thinking: that I am already super sore from 6 days of yoga practice in a row
wanting: for the clutter in our house to be cleaned on its own
needing: to clean up that clutter!

weekday casual | MDNA (and a good hair day)

top&jeans: Uniqlo / booties: DV by Dolce Vita / bracelets: Tiffany's, gift'd & Chan Luu
Although we were sad to leave NYC on Tuesday, we have lots going on this week. I actually took Wednesday and today off from work, mainly because we were seeing Madonna last night!


I obsessively bought pre-sale VIP tickets back in February, which were insanely costly, but you only live once, right?


The VIP tickets included a pre-party with food, drinks as well as a "swag" bag that had inside a tee, program, as well as sample of her new perfume.


Our seats were unfortunately not in the "golden triangle" but in the 3rd row.


She looked and sounded amazing!


And I have never gotten more compliments on my hair, from friends at the show as well as FB peeps after I posted my pics.

travel style | keep it simple

top: Kirna Zabete for Target / jeans: Uniqlo / boots: Anthro / scarf: Lululemon / bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Visiting New York in the fall is a great way to wear all the cooler weather clothes that I have accumulated in my wardrobe, but rarely use in the heat of the Texas weather. Our trip this time around was much warmer than we anticipated, but still nice fall temperatures.


top: Old Navy / jeans: Gap
I basically wore the same thing the whole time we were there, just changed the colors. While I love having cool outfit photos to post on the blog, sometimes enjoying the vacation is simply more important.


top: Uniqlo / scarf: Orla Keily for Uniqlo
We did do a bit of damage at Uniqlo this time around. I love that store. But I am actually glad it wasn't too cold because they always have the coolest cashmere sweaters with fabulous colors, but I need a wool sweater as much as I need a puffer vest. So I was good this time around and only bought things that I hope to actually wear. Coming to a post near you :)

project life | NYC, the start

In honor of our recent trip to the Big Apple, I thought I would dedicate a post to my newest memory keeping project: a NYC travel album.

title page, front
New York is our favorite city in the world. We have visited there at least once, sometimes 3X(!), every year since 2001. I have been wanting to create an album (or 2) solely for the photos and memories we have made but wasn't sure how to start.

I've been so loving the process of scrapbooking Project Life-style, that it finally occurred to be that I could totally make a theme album this way as well. I already have created a number of layouts about New York in our "Happy Travels" album, but now they will be in their own album with more pages made of divided page protectors instead of full 12x12 ones.


title page, back
I have so many ideas swirling in my head as to how to approach this album, but for now my goal is to create pages for individual things we may have done one particular year (like celebrating my best friend's 40th birthday in 2010) but also combine photos from multiple years of things we like to do every visit (like shop in Soho or eat at Hampton Chutney). Now if only I have 5 more hours everyday just to create!

We're here

Made it to hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps, even though we like to! We've got a full 4 days ahead of us and we are ready to soak it all up.

working wardrobe | lighting makes a difference

dress: Loft / blazer: Gap / shoes: Tory Burch
We had some dreary wet weather yesterday, which forced me to take quick indoor remix photos. I promise this dress is much cuter in the right light :)


top: Anthro / cardi: Target / skirt: Uniqlo / shoes: Ann Taylor / earrings: old
Funny how much difference natural light makes in even a simple photograph of one's clothes.


We are traveling to NYC tomorrow for our annual visit. I am so looking forward to spending time with good friends, seeing some cool shows and sights, eating some good food, and doing some good shopping, of course. I'm glad to know I wear the clothes that I buy there!

project life | week 41

{Oct 7-13}

full spread
41 weeks in and yada, yada, yada


left side
Although I haven't been taking tons of pictures, I still am doing my Photo-of-the-day project via Instagram and I still manage to find plenty to add. I also love that I can save and prints photos that the hubs sent me from Austin and include it in OUR project life (even though everything is from my point-of-view I still think of it as an album documenting our life). One highlight: a dear friend and I had a "date night" at Monica Pope's new restaurant Sparrow, and we met Miss Monica herself!

right side
One reason I didn't take that many pics this week is that I knew I would be taking lots (well, at least 12) on the 12th! This has been a fun little photo project this year - I focused on places we went for October.

weekend casual | something new

top&jeans: Gap / shoes: Sam Edelman / sunnies: Dsquared / necklace: gift'd
I am not wearing anything new, but I am posing in a new backdrop (our pool area, should have thought of this a long time ago!) and posting at a new time (PM instead of AM). Minor things, really.


I have actually worn these jeans a multitude of times but haven't photographed every.single.outfit. as they all tend to look similar. I like that these are a bit different than regular blue jeans and they are uber comfortable.


One new thing for today, though: eyelashes! I did these at the end of last year and while I don't like maintaining them, having them for a few months is always fun.

on the mat | why I practice

I attended a yoga workshop this weekend with some of my yogi friends.  The teacher, Jodi, was amazing. She reminded us of the fundamentals of the practice (breath, bandas and drishti) as well as helped adjust us in different asanas.

I love practicing ashtanga yoga for a number of reasons. Yoga keeps me healthy. Yoga brings structure to my life. Yoga helps me be more focused and disciplined. But do you want to know the real reason I practice?


Yoga makes me feel good and makes me happy. At the end of our practice today, we were chanting the closing mantra, and I literally had tears in my eyes. There is something about pushing yourself physically and mentally and then being in a room full of like-minded people who are doing the same thing that moves me. We were all more connected by the end of today than we were on Friday at the beginning of the workshop.

This has also made me more aware that I want more yogis in my life. And I may need to let go of old friendships that are no longer growing. Life is really too short not to be happy and to have relationships that make you feel good.

Namaste.

finally Friday

dress: Banana / cardi: Loft / shoes: Tory Burch
The start to the week was a bit rough, but it's at the end and the weekend is almost upon us. The hubs is going on a boy's trip to Austin tomorrow and I've got a yoga workshop starting tonight so it should be a good one.


This dress can definitely be worn simply but I am looking forward to layering it up over the cooler months.


And a short-sleeved cardigan is probably only useful when you live in a climate that is so hot outside the a/c freezes you inside without some kind of sleeves.

Happy weekend :)