working wardrobe | haircut, please

top&boots: Anthro / cardi: Gap / skirt: Old Navy / jewelry: gift'd / tights: Loft

Wearing pink always makes the day go faster :)

And I am in dire need of a haircut. I love the bangs, but they require some maintenance! Luckily Saturday is the day.

working wardrobe | purple belly

top&cardi: Anthro / skirt: JCrew / shoes: b.o.c

Hmmm...not sure about this pose...looks like I have a little buddha belly going on!

Love the asymmetry of this tank. Also love that it is already Wednesday. Have a great day!

project life 2013 | week 2

{Jan 6-12}

full spread

This is still my favorite memory keeping project ever.

full spread, insert right side

Funny thing is that during the week I don't feel like I have taken all that many photos, but as I am working on the spread I always end up with more than enough.

left side

This year I am creating my title card digitally and using my Instagram photo-of-the-day on the card.

insert, front side

Because of the scope of this album, I am loathe to create any additional albums anymore (exceptions will be travel themed albums because usually I have tons of pictures from vacations) so I decided to incorporate my One Little Word layouts into Project Life.

insert, back side

My OLW this year is CLEAR. As in CLEAR our the clutter, CLEAR the way, have a CLEAR mind, etc.

right side

The two photos in the bottom pockets are actually taken with my Nikon (big camera). I am definitely making more of an effort to use it more. And the quote "Someday is not a day of the week" I took from the Lululemon facebook page.

full spread, insert left side

I can hardly believe it's almost the end of January. So yes I am a bit behind on which week I am posting but, again, it's ok. {I am also trying to figure out the best way to post these photos - the iPhone pics are just so crappy when seen on the computer screen!}

working wardrobe | hi, Monday

dress: Banana / cardi: J.Crew / shoes: Tory Burch

Why is it that the working week drags on so long but the weekend seems to go by in a blink? The hubs went to visit his aunt this weekend, leaving me to my own devices (which didn't include much but a lot of cleaning, scrapping and hanging out with the boys). Hope you have a great week!

project life 2013 | title page {blog hop!}

Hi and welcome to our January

Project Life Blog Hop for our Project Life Connection Group “Project Everyday Blessings”

We are sharing with you each month where we are with our Project Life System, Albums & Techniques.

It's our hope that we will inspire you to capture memories and record them.

If you missed the full line up here it is:

Loving Life’s Little Blessings

Luvin’ Stampin’ Up

See Chel’s Musings

Craft Hobby House

scrapinoma

1 Pirate & 2 Princesses

Living Life Creatively & With Twins

Living my life outloud!!

deveney093

Crafting for Them

eek!

If you came from Crafting for Them, you are on the right track!

Here is my the title page for my 2013:

title page
For my title page I always like to use part of a Becky Higgins' core kit (Seafoam this year!) as well as photos. 

The top left pocket is a freebie from Cathy Z. that I recolored in Photoshop. Our initial card is from her as well. I love her clean and simple style and my goal this year is to keep the lumpy embellishments to a minimum so I can add more inserts without fear of having to go to 3 albums.

I do like to add thickers from my stash (trying to use it up as well, but this becomes more difficult with all the cute new PL products coming out!) for a tiny bit of dimension. This card is simply one of the Seafoam journaling cards.

The photos I included of the hubs and me were actually from last year (December at least!). And to tell you a not-so-secret, I loved this self-portrait of the two of us from NYE so much that I used it at the end of my 2012 album as well. If (when) I do a second album for 2013 I will use current photos for the new title page.

And a little about my process:

So I am not a very organized scrapper. In fact, here is our dining room table right now:

Unfortunately I do not have a dedicated scrap space since we live in a small-ish highrise apartment. Fortunately the hubs doesn't mind the mess he finds at least once a week.


One of my goals this year is to make sure I use my kit as well as finish up my Turquoise kit from last year. {P.S. I have tons of extras to give away if anyone is interested - just leave a comment!} I have actually taken out 2 of each card to use up before I start repeating.

Taking photos everyday is almost second nature now, especially with iPhone technology. You always have your phone on you so you can always snap a pic of something. Anything! And that's really my method of memory keeping - photos first. I do plan to use the dSLR more this year - nothing beats the quality!

I can't wait to be inspired by everyone on the hop. Tried to keep it short and sweet this time around. If you want to see more of my layouts try here (2013) and here (2012).

Please hop to Loving Life’s Little Blessings and you can find more Project Life fun at Project Everyday Blessing.

working wardrobe | feeling lazy

top: Ann Taylor / cardi: M+O / pants: Gap / shoes: Tory Burch

Here lately getting dressed has felt like a chore. Having the blog helps me be a little accountable (I don't want to post an outfit of me wearing black pants everyday!) but I guess I am just going through a creative fashion lull.

On the bright side, Project Runway (season 11!) has started and so have our weekly viewing parties. These days we don't see our friends nearly enough so I am glad to have an excuse to get together.

Happy Friday and here's to a relaxing weekend :)

working wardrobe | lingering

dress, cardi&tights: Loft / boots: Anthro
So the annoying cough I picked up last week (or the week before - time is going by so quickly!) is still lingering and getting on my last nerve. One of my sweet yoga friends gave me some Mucinex last night - so I plan on taking it this morning and crossing my fingers that it works. 

project life 2013 | week 1

{Jan 1-5}

full spread
Starting this project full steam ahead this year and I still love it. The only problem with ordering prints online, however, is the wait for them to ship home! I hadn't decided on photos for the title page until recently, so will be showing the album a little bit out of order.


full spread, insert right side
This year I definitely am going to keep things simple - words, photos and some pretty paper.


left side
I am creating my weekly title cards using digital elements and papers I have collected here and there. The photos on the title cards will be my Instagram photo-of-the-day for the week.


insert front
First week and already have extra photos. These were my favorite from our late Christmas celebration with my sister's family.


insert back
My nephews are well-loved.


right side
The decorated envelope was from a male friend of Joe's. I couldn't believe he took the time to put heart stickers all over the whole thing. And I really loved the stamp he used on the back, which reads "do something creative everyday." So of course I had to keep it!


full spread insert left side
Sorry about the blurry photo - they always look much clearer on my phone!

P.S. Beside the core kit, I am using lots of freebies on my pages so if you're interested in what they are, please let me know!

weekend casual | that pink sweater again

The hubs and I had a pseudo movie and dinner date yesterday. (Well, I suppose we can call it a real date night, although I guess technically everything we do together could be called a date).


Daniel Day-Lewis was amazing as Lincoln and, to attest to Spielberg's directing talents, I was on the edge of my seat when the House was counting the votes for the 13th amendment, even though I know how it turns out :)


Afterwards we went to our favorite vegetarian restaurant in town, Radical Eats. I ordered the special: vegan pho, what was absolutely delicious. Anyone who thinks vegetarian food doesn't have any taste obviously hasn't tried hard enough to look for it.


sweater: Uniqlo / jeans: Old Navy / shoes: Converse / sunnies: Dsquared / scarf: India / bag: MarcJacobs
You can't really tell from this photos, but these jeans, a Christmas gift from Joe's sister, has tiny little polka dots on them. I've been addicted to brightly colored and fun jeans this season. I think a slightly oversized sweater or sweatshirt with a big heart would be perfect with this. But I will make do with pink.

working wardrobe | finally friday

top: Anthro / sweater: Uniqlo / skirt: Old Navy / tights: Hue / boots: Nordstrom Rack 
I got a flu shot yesterday and coincidentally (?) the cough that started the night before seemed to be getting worse. So I doused myself with Nyquil last night and went to bed early. I like how it is a "so you can sleep" medicine, but waking up is always so hard (I am currently drinking some strong coffee in hopes of shaking off this groggy feeling).


Needless to say, my yoga and workout routine have been less than ideal this week, but sometimes I think it's good to listen to your body and just rest. Here's to a restful weekend.

working wardrobe | nothing in particular

top: Anthro / cardi: Ann Taylor / skirt&boots: Loft / tights: Hue

I've said this before and I am sure I will say this again: my favorite part about dressing for cold weather is wearing boots! {It's been too cold to take my coat off for an outfit photo outside, so you get the pleasure of seeing inside our place :)}

Anyone watching Lance tonight on O? I am still wondering why he is "confessing" now - he's got to be working some angle somehow...

working wardrobe | happy hump day

top: Calypso for Target / skirt: Loft / boots: Anthro / jewelry: gift'd
This week has been a bit blah - I think the cold and dreary temperatures are reflecting back in mine and Joe's moods. We need some sun!


At least it's already Wednesday. Hope you're having a better week than us :)

project life 2013 | at the beginning

We are 2+ weeks into 2013 and I have yet to finish a spread, but I am not too concerned about falling "behind." I am taking a more relaxed approach to this project for 2013. Still uploading photos about every other day and then choosing which ones I want to edit for the week's spread. Still using different digital elements like brushes and templates. Still taking lots of photos, both with my iPhone and big camera.

What's different is that I am using these cool page planners from Marcy Penner to plan out each week's spread. I am also primarily using Becky Higgins' design A page protectors. I got the big variety pack last year which was fun but kind of tricky to plan the pages. Having mostly the same design should make things a bit easier. And the more you keep things simple, the more likely it will get done.


I am slowly working through my weekly spreads as I wait for my Seafom kit to arrive (hopefully today!) as well as my prints from Snapfish. I also decided to stop using Walgreens and start getting my prints mailed to me as I much prefer matte to glossy photos, but which also means I have a to wait a bit longer. This cute card is a freebie from Cathy Z. and the stamps are from a Studio Calico set.

I really enjoy the process of creating this album and I don't want to feel the self-imposed pressure of getting everything done weekly so I am hoping this approach will make it more fun. Anyone care to join in? (I've got lots of extras that I would be willing to give away if you do!).

weekend casual | that time of year again

The hubs braved the cold, windy and wet conditions to run a 7:30 half-marathon pace. We made it out just in time to see him past by and this, unfortunately, was the best shot I took.


jacket: Gap / jeans: AG / boots: Nordstrom Rack / scarf: India / bag: MarcJacobs
Only in Houston will you find muggy 70+ degree weather one day and cold 40s the next. Finally had a reason to bust out my bright cords today!

working wardrobe | new shoes

sweater: J.Crew / pants: Gap / shoes: Urban Outfitters / scarf: NYC / cuff: gift'd
These days flats have been my go-too shoes for work, mostly out of comfort and necessity (better for yoga, etc. etc.). However, some of my pants require higher heels so I thought I would give these flatforms from Urban a try. They were on super sale so what did I have to lose?


I would give them a B. I love how they look and the height they give me, without a towering heel. But the comfort is only ok, mainly because my feet are a lot wider at the toe and narrow at the heel. I am keeping my fingers crossed they get more comfy because I really do hate giving up heels altogether!

Happy Friday! So looking forward to the weekend. :)

working wardrobe | obsessive much?

top&belt: Anthro / cardi: Loft / skirt: Old Navy / shoes: b.o.c. / tights: Hue / jewelry: gift'd
One personality trait I possess that is not always evident when you get to know me (mainly because I keep it under wraps) is that I tend to be a bit obsessive about things. When I first discovered the Wardrobe Remix photo group in Flickr, I would look at it all the time, and that's when I first started posting my own outfit photos, shopping quite a bit and reading tons of fashion/style blogs.

This obsession has since quieted down, especially when I realized I was consuming too much (in my mind) and buying clothes because I liked them on other people, not necessarily because I really wanted or even needed them. I've definitely tried to limit my blog list to those people who inspire me not necessarily by the latest thing they have bought but by how they put their outfits together.


Of course this doesn't mean I haven't fixated on something else. Since being the proud owner of an iPhone and discovering Instagram, I love the instant gratification of being able to take, edit and upload a photo all in a few easy steps without having to connect to the computer first. But to be more specific, all things Project Life have been on my mind most of last year and a lot of this year already (blogs, IG feeds, YouTube videos to name a few).

So bear with me as I try to obtain some balance between my few obsessions. What's been on your mind lately?

project life | the end of 2012

full spread
52 weeks, all in 2 albums!


full spread insert right side
I prefer to have all of one year in the same album so the last couple days of 2012 got there own spread, which is just as well because I took a ton of photos on New Year's Eve.


left side
I am happy to report that our last Sunday yoga practice of 2012 included 3 of my favorite people in the world and yummy cocos afterwards. The right column of this page starts our NYC photos.


insert front
Taking photos of us with our friends is one of my favorite things to do. Since many of our favorite people were in attendance, lots of photos were snapped. I added some confetti and glitter to one of the pockets to add a bit more sparkle.


insert back
More more more. For 2013 I need to take some better photos of these pages - I love my iPhone but it has its limitations.


right side
The hubs and I have given each other midnight kisses since 1999. The probably get documented every other year ;)


full spread insert left side
Seriously this makes me so happy.


end page
And 2012 is a wrap!

2013 will be my 3rd year doing this project (finished one for 2010 and last year. Kicked myself for not doing in 2011.). I am dying to get my paws on the Seafoam edition - I bought the digital version but my printer just isn't that great so I want to use the print version. This means that I will be "behind" on my 2013 pages for now, but a little break is ok.