thank you bach.

so although i haven't been crafting lately, i have been hoarding.
a few weeks ago i found a lea pocket score in a used book cart for $1. and knowing that i didn't really want too spend a lot this year on new christmas papers, etc. i thought it would make a great base for my christmas cards.

i've never actually done a homemade card set for christmas. i always wait until the very last second and then pick up a set wherever. this year is different in so many ways... i won't be home with my family. we'll be in a totally new place and be "on our own" in a bigger way. (meaning i don't just help my mom put up ornaments... i have to figure out the whole thing myself!)

so i decided that i would do a very un-ambitious set of 12 christmas cards. they are loosely based on the "12 days of christmas". and they are supremely low tech. i really didn't want to buy any new christmas stuff so i enjoyed just pulling together my own bits. i'll show more of them as they go out to their owners.

today i'm doing more packing, crafting, and listening to the kids slide up and down the gray st. hill. (yes there is a parent, i was very happy to see!)

heading out

over the hudson...

off to stock up on supplies
hit up some sample sales
finish the christmas shopping

and then come home to make a big mess.

it was not like this 20 minutes ago...

all the sudden we were covered. i love it.
so we are here! winter. i feel like this year just ran full speed ahead and didn't give a thought to waiting for me. and now here we are.


i feel like we've survived a lot in 2008. the hugest craziest move. late furniture, new jobs. too much work and too little. but we've gotten through it. and we're good. and most importantly - i'm good and he's good. so we are having fun again. love it.

a bunch has been happening. the best part of the past few months hands down was spending thanksgiving break with my parents and sister here in ny/nj. poker. midtown. lady liberty. australia.

and now it's almost christmas and it's time to get going on 2009. i found a certain 24 before 25 and was amazed at really how much of it i had accomplished. frankly i didn't really put my all into that 24 but it got me thinking about all i could get done if i got off on a good start towards a new list of 26... so that's what the plan is.

to help me i'll be closely following julie's project fifty-two

okay so i'm now getting distracted by anchorman on tbs. back to my christmas cards and teddy grahams. thanks for hanging on with me folks.

september? really!?!

yo.
so i know i've been awful.
doing absolutely anything for me, or about me,
or just me has taken a serious back seat lately.
and i'm over it.

i know i owe a big explanation.
or actually, i guess i don't.
but i'll give one nonetheless.

anthro is anthro.
my dream job is a bit lacking, and technically i'm no where near my real "dream" position at anthro... so i think i've given it up a bit and am just living with my "reality" job until i can start doing something that's really a true reflection of my talents, potential, and experience. at least i'm surrounded by pretty things every day. and that i can at least still appreciate.

portraitbug is getting done. we are all so ready to get into the space it's ridiculous. i just want to see it done and open. i want to see everyone's hard work up on the walls, merch done, and smiling scrappers creating beautiful memory art in our studio space. it'll happen. for now our blog is rockin' and we are in the middle of 7 days of giveaways. our online store is open so check it out.

i'm reading a lot lately again. which is nice. currently working on...

it's a pretty freakin' fantastic book.
i've laughed out loud twice on the train.
people across from me thought i was nuts - and i am.
if you are a pop culture fanatic you need this book.

joey and i spent a day over at the rock last weekend...

i didn't tell joe but one of my major motivations was the potential stalking of a mr. michael phelps swimming hottie who happens to be hosting the premiere of snl. i know he's in the city. i must casually bump into him. i think i have about a 72 hour window left.

so really. to sum up.
work. walking.
not creating nearly enough.
but it's a new month right?

oh yeah... when is fall supposed to happen again?
because it's way too hot... and i'm yearning for some sweater weather.

i know i know

i've been bad.
bad bad bad.

but i've been busy too.

working too much anthro.
getting pb up up up.

but i double pinkie swear i'll catch up.
and even share some fun things soon!

{hugs}

oh it's on.

first off i've been listening to dane cook all day so i'm kinda ridiculous right now.

but...

project runway, tonight. and yes, it's on.

not sure why or how, but when i hear heidi klum's voice this creative vortex opens up and i am inspired. i snap, i cut, i write, i doodle, i arrange, i clean, i create. it just happens. and i love it.

so yes, it's begun and i can't wait. joe's bringing home dinner, i've got the living room cleaned and tonight's possibilities are endless. plus no work tomorrow....

expect great things, lol.

back to us.

successful weekend.

after the whirlwind return home it was nice to just have some time for us to relax and re-connect. joe and i spend all saturday in the city. met up with drew and just walked and shopped.

then we went home and talked and conspired. we are both in a really great place right now creatively and want to start working together to materialize more. we do our best work independently when we work together - contradiction? i think not.

this weekend did exactly what we needed it to. inspire.

went hit up urban outfitters... love these couches and the color of them.


i'm looking for someone who can create that look from the frame of our lay-z-boy. i really love the frame of my couch but just want it to look totally different. maybe it's a diy project i just have to jump into.

on julie's suggestion i got the BIG drawer drawer unit from container store. i can't tell you how much space it's saved me already. life. much easier.

this week i have so much to get done. but i finally have some photos and stuff to scrap and a ton of notes in my book to draw from. plus i'm developing classes.

crunch time.

quick game of tag.

and then i have to get to work cleaning up my studio and my home.

i was tagged by jan!

normally i kinda hate tag games but these questions were pretty easy and interesting - they may make pretty good scrap prompts!

so if i tag you at the end of this you have to keep it going... just answer the questions about yourself and then tag another 5 or 6 people at the end of your post.

so here we go....

what were you doing ten years ago?

well i was 15.
just finished my freshman year of high school.
singing all over the place
(i was sandi in grease in high school that year and then did some community theatre too)
i got my first summer retail job at carson pierre scott in the kids dept.
took summer driving school
probably driving my parents nuts with my first "real" boyfriend

today's "to do" list?

CLEAN MY STUDIO
set up design team meeting stuff
scrap scrap scrap scrap
spend some time with my hubby

i'm addicted to:

starbucks hot chocolate (sorry could really use on right now!)
scrapbooking/paper art
my camera
owls
vintage
shopping
i'm sure there is more...

i would do if i were a millionaire:

take my mom and friends on a big design/art trip to everywhere
take my mom and dad on big trips everywhere and anywhere they wanted to go
get a hot BIG pad somewhere in NYC with tons of room and a limitless design budget
oh i guess i should pay off our bills too huh?

i've lived:

hobart, in
west lafayette, in
orlando, fl
naples, fl
jersey city, nj

i'm tagging:

the WHOLE pb design team...
kristi
julie
breanne
alexis

+

suzy
linda

so have fun!

sweet home chicago.

well i'm stuck...


it's 8:12 and i was supposed to be in the air about 30 minutes ago. they said 10:15 but it seems as thought they are running about an hour behind that. so at some point tomorrow morning i'll be back in JC. but i got my domino + a nice big bag of m&m's + a diet coke + internet... so i'm not stressing and am just going with the flow (which goes nicely with my "go with the flow" personality right mom, lol).....

it was so good being back home for a few days. i wish i could stay longer but i'm also anxious to get home and get back to work. i have a new position at anthro waiting for me, lots of work in my studio calling me, and lots of planning for the portraitbug grand opening.

plus... i miss my joey! he did such an awesome job while i was gone, kept the house clean AND GAVE BOTH DOGS A BATH!! or at least he said he kept the house clean and i totally trust him, lol. one thing i decided while i was away from joe this time was that we totally have to institute a planned date night, otherwise we are just too lazy about going places together... and after seeing dark knight with my parents this week i am so in the mood to get back into the theatre and go movie crazy again. i used to be so good about seeing all the new releases, but cruise ships made me dvd lazy.

speaking of dark knight....


omg was it an amazing movie. bale was hot, always is. my heart still goes all fluttery for him whenever i think of him in little women. but heath ledger was just amazing. it made his death an even HUGER shame because this movie so deserved a sequel with even more more more joker. and how i could still find him totally hot under all those scars and makeup don't ask me, i'm weird.

since i have a ton of time i thought i'd check out some of my favorite blogs and i've found some amazingly cool stuff....

first off at cha we ordered just about everything maya road and i am so inspired by some of the cute cute things they did with their stamps and fabric. check out these cutie little owls...

and this cupcake is so darn adorable as well...


i'm not sure what's up with me and my desire to play with anything fabric lately. it's not like i've been very pro-active in getting my machine transported from nwi to jc but i think it's definately time. check out the project that went up today on design sponge (totally an awesome and amaazing blog btw, you should be reading it every single day)...


fabric friendly inks? i didn't even know there was such a thing.... but i WANT them. in fact dare i say i NEED!

i don't even know where to begin with all the goodness being posted on print + pattern... bowie has been posting all of the pics from paris and everything is amazing. makes me want to go on a big design trip with my mom and some of my girls.

and now for a little 6 degrees, well 4 degrees....

so on decor 8 i found design freebies and from there i found nanibird and these....





i can't wait to download these little guys and put them together when i get home. maybe i'll even figure out how to design my own little nanibird.

well i think that's all the goodies i have right now. it's starting to get exhausted but it looks like the first flights in cue are finally boarding. so it should only be a matter of time before i get on the big metal bird and head back to jc via long island.

i hope everyone has a great night!

home with the 'rents.

It has been an insane two weeks. Crazy at work, crazy getting ready for CHA, CRAZY at CHA. It was so nice that my mom was able to come with us though on Saturday and Sunday to CHA. I'm in the middle of editing my photos from CHA to post on the PB Blog. There was a lot I was majorly in love with this year and I can't wait for all of our orders to start coming in. There were some amazing projects too from designers and I was so inpired by them. When I get home this week I'm making a beeline to my studio and locking the door for a few days. (Okay maybe I'll let Kim or someone in to scrap with me... but then it's on lock-down.)

So now I'm thankfully at home with my parents. I have missed them so much the past few months. I literally jumped on my mom when I saw her and gave her a huge hug. I was a little more gentle with my dad since he's still recovering from his fall/heart attack a few weeks ago. But he looks really good and his heart is A'Ok now.

I can't even explain how good it is to be home for a bit. I'm right back in the poker grove with them (we are big players and my parents are in the World Tavern Poker league), and I think we are all going to see Batman tomorrow (can't wait!) My mom and I are going to do a teenie tiny bit more scrapbook shopping/browsing. Her Big Lots are stacked here so I'm going to capitalize on that I think. I also wanted to visit a scrap store in Valpo that she goes to sometimes to see what they stock, how they stock it, and maybe ask some product movement questions. We'll see...

Well, I have to get back to work so that all the PB readers can get some CHA eye candy. Today is pretty overcast and rainy here in NWI but I'm looking forward to getting some pics of everything I love and miss here the moment the clouds break!

ttyl

life doesn't have apple+ z

sorry no pictures today but i promise i'll do another post later...

busy busy week last week. worked every day either on PB or anthro.
getting ready for CHA. can't wait!
get to go home to see the fam too, miss them terribly
+ can't wait to hug my daddy.
(mom you too!)

have my bio up on PB Blog
+ keep checking every day for each designers' bio.

stuff i'm doing today:
finishing a few layouts that have been hanging out on my desk.
cleaning this crazy apartment
(in hopes that joey will keep it minorly clean while i'm gone.)
PB ordering (yay!)
iTunes re-vamp
maybe meet up in city later with drew and joey?

happy monday!

independance day.

happy 4th of July!!

Today started out kinda gloomy. Which was actually so perfect. We are both off today so Joey and I are making good use of the hours to work on our "other" jobs. Joe is busy editing and working on new projects for NCL - I am finishing up some Portrait Bug stuff.

We have picked the Design Team and all designers have been notified and accepted! I'm so happy that part is over. Now I'm just getting ready for our first meeting and getting the Portrait Bug Blog up and running. I haven't announced the team yet - waiting on bios - hopefully I'll have them and post tomorrow.

This morning I realized that I'm not being as productive creatively as I really want to be. I sketch like a mad-woman but never really scrap or anything. But a tiny bit of work in the morning helps focus me so much, so I decided to make this....

It took less than 5 min... lol. But I've had this piece of corkboard sitting on my desk from the move where is was originally part of the cork runner I had in my studio at 751... and i thought it would make a good atc cover.

I am pretty excited about the ScrapJammies Circle Journal I'm doing. This is the cover of mine. I'll post the rest a bit later with Jan's pages too, I got her really cute CJ called "guilty pleasures". In it I make a shocking confession.


Well I have to get back to some things. Joey, the dogs, and I are heading out to Liberty State Park to see the JC and Macy's fireworks tonight. I hope hope hope they don't freak out.

Have a great 4th!

why not?

So I just got home from work. Was supposed to work until 10pm but they cut my hours to 8. I'm totally cool with that today... hate coming home late and if I miss the 11pm cut-off for the Path train it takes a CRAZY long time to get home b/c the Path goes all the way to Hoboken before Journal Square. CRAZY talk!!

Joey met me after work so we could grab a slice and take the train home together. I love meeting up with him. There's really something about working away from each other (as opposed to working from home like we were in Naples) that makes me so giddy every time I see him walking towards me. I love our new found independence because it makes our time together 100% more amazing.

Had my first celeb sighting this evening too. As we were walking down Bleecker we caught up to Julianne Moore and her friend waiting to cross. She looked really cute in a beige scarf and printed summer dress in browns. LOVE her hair color too... it's not craazy red like it used to be, more of like a dark auburn red. Anyway, we didn't bother her (because when I'm super famous I don't want people to bother me, lol) and as we turned onto Christopher she and her friend continued down Bleecker and that was that....

I don't have anything else really to share. My desk is a mess (a very good sign) and I'm working on a new mini-book for a circle journal over at ScrapJammies. I'm only on call tomorrow so it should be ready to share by tomorrow afternoon. Hope my boxes I ordered from USPS show up!

it's time...

to finally update my blog, and my life.

I've been avoiding blogging for awhile because I really want to figure out how to re-vamp my blog a bit. I'm not really sure what I want to change yet. Maybe just changing up the look a bit will help, but we'll see what I come up with today. Maybe if I've changed my blog will just follow suit?

Let's keep the crazy "get up to speed" pretty concise:

*moved to Jersey City, love it - love being close to NYC even more
*heat wave - cool off - gorgeous
*got a job, work at Anthropologie SOHO - totally love it, but ready to go full time
*fell into a second job (more following)
*Roxy started her first heat (yuck)
*finally have space in my studio

So I basically took this move to "check-out" for awhile. I think I was burned out on the scrapping thing. I think I was burned out in general - stressing the move, stressing life. I'm not going to jinx myself by saying that all is now peachy keen jelly bean... but at least I had an explosion of efficiency this weekend and pulled together my studio. So I now have surfaces to work on, a real desk set up, and all of my "stuff" unpacked. Well not ALL of it - one corner stays in boxes for the ease of painting this weekend.

proof.


decided on colors too...


So there are no more excuses on my days off. Time to put some of those ideas to work.

The "second" job is an awesome opportunity and I have to say it was all about surfing the right place at the right time! I was a little bummed out about my lack of hours at Anthro so I headed to craigslist just on the off-chance that something fun might pop out at me. And I found Kim!

Kim is opening the first truly dedicated LSS in all of Manhattan. Yes, there are some awesome stationary stores, and stationary stores with scrapping sections... but scrappers have nothing like a Purl Soho that the fabric lovers have. Well by the end of the summer they will! The Portrait Bug is going to be the first scrap boutique/portrait studio. It's going to be so cool, parties, crops, classes, kids and pet photography and parties.

AND...

Kim asked me to be the Design Team lead! I'm really excited. There's so much to be done - Product lists, ordering, CHA, opening events, hiring... and finding the Design Team! There is a ton of more exciting stuff to tell but for now if you are in the NYC area and want to be part of our local Design Team head to The Portrait Bug and look at all the info. The call ends June 30th and you have to be local and willing to meet once a month.

That's about my life right now in a nutshell. There will be more info on the store soon I promise, we can't release a date on the opening or anything until we are sure (construction woes) but it's going to be awesome so sit tight.

So now it's time for me to sit down and scrap. Or Journal. Or make an atc. Or make something.

It's playtime.

back to blogging

Hey to everyone who is wondering where the heck I am and what I'm doing.  It's been a pretty crazy life change moving to JC.  I'm loving it but things have been really busy and I'm just now taking a moment to get the creative part of my life back on track.  I am finally employed but I want to share more about that later.  Let's just say that I finally have be employed with my favorite company EVER and I'm so excited for the opportunity!  My house is no where completed but will be by this weekend because I have to scrap!!  We had our cousin Mia with us last week and so all the leftover "stuff" got shoved into my room which meant pushing back unpacking my studio again - ugh.  

I just wanted to say "hi" - so Hi!  I promise I'll have a nice long blog post with photos and updates.  Life is pretty awesome right now and I'm loving NYC!  

More soon...

{hugs}

rich indeed.

We've been in our new place for just over a week now. Still no internet, so I'm forced to come into Chelsea Market to soak up some of the free wireless love. Such a chore coming into this amazing place full of amazing smells, lol. Joey works upstairs so it's really nice to take a quick ride on the NJ/NY Path train to meet up with him. I haven't given into the cupcake/cookie temptations yet. But the sushi lunches from The Lobster Place are amazing (and the fish you can buy is just incredible)!

Spending so much time in Chelsea Market has fueled a major desire to really cook. I'm not the best cook on the planet but having so many really amazing ingredients and farmer's markets around is giving me the bug.

I won't have too long to wait.

After a bit of drama earlier today we now have 100% confirmation that the truck is coming tomorrow and we have the emergency parking signs/permit to boot. We were going to have to wait until Monday but not being able to work on unpacking this weekend with me really started bugging Joey. So tomorrow Joe has the day off, truck comes at noon, and we are good to go!

Which means that in just 24hours I'll have everything for my studio again! I've been doing some major minimalist crafting the past few days. Writing and taking a ton of photos too. Started an anti-journal....


Then realized I only have masking tape... So having my fabric-tac or even a glue stick tomorrow will make me so darn happy.

Also have started getting all my sketches and notes together for decorating the flat... and that's where I need a little help! This is the 360degree view of my new studio. It's a really great room, lots of light, right off the kitchen (I am totally loving the swinging door!)...




The big wall in the second photo between the two windows is going to be a crazy mega-invention. I'm hoping to find someway to make the whole wall a magnetic chalk board. I know, sounds crazy. Some of it may end up being corkboard too... but I really want to find a HUGE piece of metal and then use this stuff...

I want the wall to end up black (and shades of grey). So I'm trying to figure out what the best color would be to paint the rest of the walls. I don't want it crazy bright (like pink or orange), no yellow for sure. I'm thinking a cool tone, like aquas, greens, blues. It's my creative space so I want something inspiring but also calming. A place I can just relax into and create!

So I'd LOVE to see some color swatch ideas if anyone has any suggestions for me!?! I've been staring at my color book for so long that nothing amazing jumps out at me. I'm pretty picky.... so if someone leaves me a color-pick that I end up choosing and using you'll get a pretty cool RAK from me!

All in all life is very rich for Team Taylor. Having no "stuff" has been so enlightening for us and such an eye opener. We have been having a lot of fun just hanging out on our futon pad as a family and dreaming about making our new home the home we really want it to be. We are excited to start decorating and filling our space with form that is totally inspired and works for us!

{hugs}

I'm here!

Well it's been a pretty crazy week but I'm in Jersey City, finally back with my hubby, and getting settled. I just found a random wireless signal with my EMachine (yes it's killing me to not have my Mac-baby... but until the truck comes Friday this is what I'm living with, lol). Our internet won't be hooked up until later this week so for now I'm thankful to the wireless gods for giving me this (probably very brief) portal to the outside world.

We don't have any of our things yet but our friends were very generous to let us borrow their futon mattress for the next few days. We are roughing it but really happy and excited to be here and be starting our new lives as New Yorker/New Jersey-ers.

Tomorrow I'm heading back into the city to scope out some job opportunities. I'm taking the camera with and will have some things to share. The weather is finally nice - it rained pretty steadily the first two days we were here. So I'm excited to get back out and explore with my camera in tow.

Thank you so much to everyone who has been praying for our little family. I'll have more to report on the pups and everyone soon. My mom left yesterday and was so AMAZING. She helped me so much and I could not have gotten through the long trek to Jersey City without her. I love you mom!

{hugs}

moving countdown: 2 days till go time

Sorry, no fun pictures or anything today. Hopefully tomorrow I will have more time. Today is a BIG day in the madness that is moving week. The truck gets dropped off, I have to pull everything out of the garage and make my final trip to St. Vincent's, and then pack pack pack....

We did finally get the apartment we wanted. The landlady took forever to give us an answer and we were really shaking in our boots for a bit about it. But we have the place we wanted and now we just have to cross our fingers and hope and pray everything works perfectly (or as close to it as possible).

Tomorrow my first article goes up on Craft Critique. Be sure to check it out!

I'm off to do more packing! Hopefully I can give a better update a bit later tonight!

{hugs}

Please pray for a safe and stress-free move for us!

joey's home!

And as you can see some of us are VERY VERY happy...

I picked him up last night at midnight and it's so nice to have him here for the weekend. We just talked and talked about everything... the job, the apartment we're waiting to hear about, the neighborhoods, the city, the opportunities. It's so amazing to have my best friend back to talk about all the craziness of our life right now.

This morning we did breakfast out which we hadn't done in a long time. I love our breakfasts, I love talking to him... ahhh, sorry I'm a little smitten right now, lol!

This afternoon we've been working hard getting Joe's office all organized, cleaned up, and packed away. We are just about done which is great because we can move on to something else soon! Tonight we are doing Carrabba's for pizza with Hilda and then might go to our last neighborhood get together.

We'll see.

I hope everyone is having a beautiful Saturday no matter what you are doing! We are covered in dust and surrounded by a mess --- but we are having a blast and I'm ecstatic!

grab a snack...

because it's going to be a long one.

For the past three days I've been a packing machine, but things at the house have been crazy. It's been a very hectic week to say the least. Roxy isn't loving her collar but I think her foot is finally all better. Overall the dogs have been a pain in the butt. I think they are getting sick of just me. With all the packing upsetting their normal environment and all the people coming the house since it's been up for sale - I think they are just kinda over it all and stressed. They (and me too!) deserve some fun this weekend so I hope we can figure out something fun to do with them.

An offer went for 751 and so the house was inspected, appraised, and checked for termites all on Monday, at basically the same time. The family came too so the house was nuts for about 3 hours. I was so relieved when it was done because I could pull everything out, make a mess, and finally get really packed.

So I started in my office. Got everything in the closet packed up and ready to go. Most of the "time-capsule" stuff that we each have are in the closet so it's always interesting to look back through it all. I love all of Joe's MAD magazines, Conan the Barbarian comics... and who doesn't remember these....


I still have the Sesame Street Record player for these... I have to get it from my parents and see if it still works.

Tuesday I did a ton more packing and cleaning - but without power! About 1:00pm the power in the neighborhood went out until 6:30pm. It was a big pain in the butt, especially since I was working on some computer things when it went out, fun.

I did get into my studio though and start organizing all of my crafty mess. It's so awesome to be able to go through everything, re-organize it, and be re-inspired. I found these cards that Joe's mom gave me a few years ago. Thy are really pretty and looking at them so reminds me of dance school at Columbia. It's like each card captures a moment that I can totally relate to. I may make them into a little ATC/Journal.


One thing I noticed while organizing ephemera and things into my inspiration box (which is now overflowing!) was that the index cards on the C&T Publishing File Box were warping from not having enough support in the box.


So for a quick fix I grabbed some left over cardboard, measured to size, and adhered them to the cards. I didn't cut my cardboard really clean, but if you needed to make it look more uniform you could sand the edges to smooth them out.



Done.

(Gordon Ramsey-style crafting.)

Wednesday was another hectic day. I came back from a long and really hot walk with the dogs to find the family who is buying 751 in the driveway. No one had told me they were coming and trust me when I say that there way NO WAY the house was presentable for them to come in. I panicked a bit... and called the real estate agent. Landlord forgot to call me and tell me that he and the family were doing a walk through of some problems that came up at inspection. Ugh. So I rushed around the house while they were downstairs talking throwing clothes in hamper, picking up dogs toys and dog hair (they are shedding so bad right now), stuffing dishes into the sink. ARRRRRGGGG... I was a mess. So I had to clean myself up too. lol...

They stayed again several hours which just totally threw the day off. The dogs were nuts again the whole time... it's so stressful (for any of you who've been here you know!) to be moving, having the house sold (thank goodness we are renters), packing, raising a german shepherd pup... man I need some r&r!

And now it's FRIDAY! And my boyfriend comes home for the weekend to help me and give me a break. I'm so thankful to be seeing him. Sometimes I feel like I'm cracking up when it's just me and the dogs. Ever start talking to them like they care? Or understand? Yeah I'm there!

I'm really excited for this weekend. Yes there will be a lot of work to do Saturday but Sunday is all mine and my hubby's... I just want a cocktail, and a spot on the beach. I don't think I've wanted a beach day this bad since moving here!

I hope that everyone has had a great week and has an even better weekend!

{hugs}

my poor little roxy...

I noticed yesterday that Roxy was paying a lot of attention to one of her front paws - licking it a lot and pulling at one of the nails. So we went in to see the vet today and sure enough, she has an infection in her nail bed. Poor little girl has to wear this halo/cone thingy for the next week so that she doesn't infect it more by licking it herself, and she's on a week of antibiotics. I'm glad I took her in right away and that I *crossing my fingers* hopefully caught it before the toenail needed to be removed. I think she'll be just fine...

But I feel so bad for her in the cone. She doesn't like it and just looks sad. Plus Crystal is a little weirded out by the cone so she's kinda acting spastic around Roxy. Like she's got the plague, lol! I took it off just now so she could eat b/c she was crying by the food... but I have to get it back on her sometime. What's really sad is that we were planning on getting her spayed next week too... so she's going to be REALLY mad at us by the time we move and expect her to be good in a car for two days, lol! Oh well....

So for the rest of today I'm packing up my office closet and scrapbooking. Joe comes in next weekend so I have to be pretty much ready to go so that we can have some time to relax together and have the place packed up... I'm going to try to set up a little beach day for us next week just to soak it in and say goodbye to Naples. I still have a week after his weekend here to finish up if the moving units aren't totally packed.

Whew! There's a lot to do... But I'm really getting so excited now! Things are moving fast!

I got an invite out to Park Slope Beach today and while it's an amazing beach day I think my time is better spent packing - plus I have to watch that Crystal and Roxy don't get into it or out of the cone to her paw!

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday!

just got the news...

A little bit ago that I did not make it on the 2008 AMM DT. I'm really blown away by who was chosen for the new team and so excited for Michelle! I think they are going to have a great year and I can't wait to see what they all do with the kits. You can see the DT announcement here!

As for me... I'm totally okay with not being in the team this year. I've been a little overwhelmed the past few months and with the move know that I need some time to just chill out and get settled. Plus this means I can concentrate again on scrapping just for me!

I'm definitely not leaving AMM, the community there is the best anywhere and I love Michelle so much. So you'll still be seeing all of their fabulous kits on my blog every month, lol...

So now that that's over, I can barely hold these LO's in anymore. I really loved doing them and it haven't felt this way about my layouts for a LONG time!

*Little Me*



I have been wanting to do this layout for so long and could never get it just right. I took the Little Me class at CHA and STILL couldn't make it work. Well when I found this picture and saw my BG Mellow it finally all fell into place.

*Self 4/04/08*



Joey asked me to take a photo for him... awwww. There is actually going to be a second page to this one but it's too dark to take the picture now. I got about one shot and the rest were ruined when I was attacked by the dogs.... lol!

So I want to again congratulate the new AMM DT! Be sure to check these ladies out because they are amazing!

{hugs!}

waiting...

For the new DT to be announced at A Million Memories. More nervous this time than I was last year I think... probably because now I know what an amazing group of girls are over there and how unbelievable Michelle is to design for. I've made some really great friends over the past year and I hope I'm asked to design again for them... still crossing my fingers! lol!

For Joey to come back to Florida one last time to help me pack up and move out. I miss him so much and while him coming down to help me probably isn't the most cost effective decision in the world I NEED to see him. It's been pretty emotional for me trying to deal with all of our "stuff" alone so having him here will totally re-energize me for the trip up.

So while I'm waiting I'm finally getting started packing my closet up which is a HUGE mess. I have stuff in there from grade school - high school - all kinda of crazy stuff. This is going to be the final purge I think of stuff I know I won't use... lol. Like who really needs their high school econ notebook? Seriously...

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

{hugs}

i can see the finish line...

The past week has been so nuts. It's finally hit me just how much I have going on and how much I have to do, lol! It's finally happening, it's REALLY happening, we are moving and we are moving big. So I've been packing, cleaning, AND scrapping... yet I still feel crazy behind.

I'm excited for all of this change but at the same time I'm ready for everything to be settled into a new life. I have things to get done and I'm ready and feeling inspired to do them!

The April Kit from A Million Memories had just landed on my doorstep when I last blogged and I LOVED working with it. The colors were so fresh and I really loved the vintage feel. I want to start using vintage elements more in my scrapping because I think it freshens is up from the more bold colors I usually drift to on my own...

Here is the mini-book that came in this month's kit which is from Scenic Route and is so cool!








I am LOVING Tim Holtz's crackle paint lately. I bought a few at a store when I was visiting my mom during Christmas and couldn't believe how well "Worn Lipstick" went with this kit! I love how easy it is...



You can see all of my projects and the whole Design Team's work this month here...

You have to check out all the new upgrades over at A Million Memories... the store looks amazing and the user gallery is totally kicking! There are some really awesome scrappers over there!

Well, back to work! Happy Tuesday (and enjoy American Idol! I can't wait for tonight, lol!)

{hugs}