{Life as we live it}

the weekend...

consisted of no sleep, quality time w/ girlfriends & pumpkin patch with the kids.

Saturday was spent at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore w/ friends Linda & Keisha. the perfect 1/2 way point for us getting together. we walked around the town over to Fell's Point & had brunch at the Blue Moon Cafe, which we waited 45 mins to be seated. super small, quaint eatery where your food nearly covered the 12" size plates...an insane amount of food.

after long walks around the harbor, we ended our night at Cheesecake Factory. i've not been there since we took the kids to the Aquarium the year Corinne was born. i've missed eating their cheesecake. so so good. had the new Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake & it was delish!

i didn't realize how fast Halloween was approaching. gave the hubs a break from the kids & took them to their favorite pumpkin patch in Stafford. as usual, they had a blast. but no pony rides this time around. Ty wasn't interested & Corinne, well, she wasn't even thinking about of sitting on anything w/ four legs.

lots of running around in the maze, bowling & feeding the farm animals.

an exhausted weekend, yet FUN!! now to prepare for Halloween parties at the kids schools this week & another fun weekend pumpkin carving, Halloween party & trick or treating...not looking forward to the sugar rushes my kids (& hubs) will have in the coming days...

happy feet...

decisions, decisions! i couldn't make up my mind. i literally spent 40 mins in DSW several weeks ago trying on these running/walking shoes. i walked around many times & i'm sure the sales reps. thought i was nuts. New Balance are CUTE, but i'm not into the hot pink. plus, i don't need shoes to tone my ass, it's already big as it is. i need some shrinkage back there ;) but the, Ryka's have always been a fave & their shoes are super comfy! i stopped running, b/c well, my left knee was always in pain. quite honestly, my knees are important to me. so instead, i powerwalk 3 to 4 miles & my feet & legs are happy :)

Ina Garten goodness...

 

the aroma in my kitchen Saturday night was nothing but pure Ina Garten goodness...her Tomato & Goat Cheese Tart was DELISH!!! paired it with her Baked Shrimp Scampi & Garlic Bread...YUM! it all was a hit & enjoyed among friends & family!

xo

jewelry & travel...

it's that time of the month again for Mind On Metal article. went up this morning & this month, i kept it a little simple. i must say, i really enjoying this article, it has challenged me & has helped me step out of the box when it comes to making jewelry & loving it. it's amazing what you can make out of different types of materials, textures & random objects.

i made this simple necklace the other day out of these....

Maya Road trinket pins!

you can read a little more about how i made them over at Cartwheels :)

beware BLURRY photo...

last weekend Wendy asked me to be her TA at CKC Kansas City. i couldn't turn down the offer. it was one of those last minute things, but totally worth it. she taught two Making Memories classes Friday & Saturday. it was her first time teaching & she was a nervous wreck up until after her 1st class...hehe. trying to keep her calm wasn't an option...LOL! BUT, she did great & the students enjoyed the projects a ton.

we had the chance to meet Deena Wuest, how cool was that? we were so excited to meet her for the first time. she such a great designer!!! we all hung out the last night at dinner & at the crop. lots of laughter! it was fun!

that's me, trying to take a photo of myself in the hotel mirror & was having issues w/ the damn camera...LOL. i didn't realize my finger was touching the button at the time...OY! it was early! like my apron? it's a Making Memories apron...love the fabric ruffled at the bottom!

now, i have a LOT of catching up to do, since i've been gone for 4 days & then spent Monday recovering...ugh! my feet were so sore by end of my flight, i could barely walk!

happy hump day :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

i'm ready...

...to get my Christmas shopping on!!! i am even almost done w/ my own list to hand over to the hubs & my parents :) i even have a list ready for nieces & nephews & i HOPE to have all their gifts ordered or made by the end of the month. then i can focus on my own kids & hubs & for the parents, well, we already know what we're getting them. it's just a matter of when we'll get their gift. i am already thinking about Black Friday, my favorite time to shop. i get such a rush out of shopping on that day & can't wait fight the crowds for the hottest goodies this season :) i'm usually a procrastinator on Christmas shopping, but this year i am seriously gonna try to do better & get things done a lot sooner so i can enjoy & embrace the holiday season with more downtime...wish me luck, haha!

anyway, so i have some Lily Bee pages to share for this month, that i just truly love how they both turned out...totally how i thought they would turn out, which is something that RARELY happens. it was a good scrappin day for sure!

when making this swirl layout, i wanted the photos to pop instead of the papers & embellishments, so i stuck with a clean crisp white & used the hues of blues & neutrals & create movement w/ the photos & layered circles (i got the layered circles w/ staples idea from somewhere online & i can't remember for the life of me who did the same ones). very simple...Corinne enjoying her new skirt at the time. she couldn't stop twirling it seemed.

i pleated! i usually don't play w/ paper like this. i'm more of a die-cuts & punches kinda scrapper when it comes to adding interest to pattern papers. but i have loved seeing pretty ribbons pleated this way & had to do the papers the same. love how it turned out. something i will be adding to my pages now & then.

have a good week!

it's fall...

& i have some projects to share.

this months October WIP kit was really  nice! it's obvious what colors i am drawn to, the teals, yellows, oranges, krafts/ neutrals...can't seem to get enough of them. perfect colors i this kit that i just adored.

this layout, is SUPER simple. used my Slice to cut out the hearts & i also used Pioneer Woman's actions on my photos...i used 5 different ones on each photo for fun! love the look of it...something totally different for me.

gotta love Jenni Bowlin 4x4 patterns...classic colors, reminds me of fall. i love this photo so much of my friend, Penny, capturing action shots of Corinne sliding down the slide. she had a blast, too.

i'm always looking to make something to dress up the walls around the house. so i made this simple felt piece w/the felt leaves & nestled it in the wreathe.

made this mini album using each month & printed out the pictures using the Polaroid Image Maker & resized them down to size.

i really put my Slice machine to work w/ this months kit...hehehe. love it. each page shares a favorite photo of the month this year so far. can't wait to finish the last three months of the year.

this went up over at Cartwheels this past weekend...sharing a simple Halloween project i whipped up really quick! this time, i used my Silhouette to cut out the spider & web, very fun! added some embellishments to the premade banner i put together & viola! kids were super happy to see it up on the wall the next day. cool thing, the letters glow in the dark :)

Happy FALL :)