I'm that person that turns to my husband over dinner and says "next date night lets try that new Thai place around the corner." And then we don't. I'm that person who always picks up the black or grey sweater. Do any other options exist? I'm that person who says, "yeah I want to go back there someday with someone I actually like"...
As 2016 approaches and I begin thinking about my fourth (!!!) year of documenting with Project Life, I'm really trying to look back and think about what worked and didn't work for me this year. I did a lot of experimenting these past eleven months, and as such I definitely have a much better idea of what I like and don't like. If...
I still almost can't believe it. I'm finally up to date in sharing my project life spreads! Man, that's a good feeling. I'm not going to beat around the bush, friends, so here's November. ...
That's right, this mama is finally catching up on her Project Life posts! I actually debated sharing these spreads because with the exception of one, I consider them to be some of the weakest spreads I've put together in a while. I actually started up another 6-month studio calico subscription in hopes that some new designs and products would help lift me out...
I take my seat on the worn, red chair with the sliver of sunlight shining on it, and pull my MacBook from my purse. I’ve positioned myself in the fiction section between shelves sixteen and seventeen, somewhere amongst Davis-Downs and Doyle-Evaristo. I can see the covers of Evanovich and Griffin, Grisham and Eugenides; the latter being one of my favorite recent reads. My...
To say that I'm behind in sharing my spreads would be an understatement, but I'm finally catching up. Here is September, which oddly seems so long ago. ...
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"We need to move away from this constant need of coming across as calm, cool and collected. We weren’t built to be calm, cool, and collected. If we were, it wouldn’t feel so exhausted all the time. It would, you know, come naturally to us. You know what comes naturally to human beings though? Being open, being messy, being raw, being unfiltered, having...
Outside: we're finally turning the page on all this triple digit weather and I couldn't be happier. While summer does bring about a feeling of freedom that you don't experience at any other time, I also find the season stifling. I'm ready for fall. My favorite. I've already started sorting through my sweaters and trying to decide what else - if anything -...
"All I know for certain is that this is how I want to spend my life - collaborating to the best of my ability with forces of inspiration that I can neither see, nor prove, nor command, nor understand. It's a strange line of work, admittedly. I cannot think of a better way to pass my days." - Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic ...
Let me just begin by saying that I can't believe this day is here. My contemporary romance novella, Finding Lily, is now officially for sale on Amazon! The Synopsis: Lily Gardner thought she'd found her soul mate when she met and married the handsome and well-off Thomas Gardner. But six years later, with a two-year-old in tow, she finds herself wading through the...
I have to tell you that I'm currently two weeks behind in my 2015 album and it is really rubbing me the wrong way. There was a part of me that wanted to panic, but then I decided that I'm simply going to combine the two weeks into one spread, especially since they weren't the most photo-heavy weeks. Done is better than perfect,...
"I think of writing simply in terms of pleasure. It's the most important thing in my life: making things. Much as I love my husband and children, I love them only because I am the person who makes these things. And because that person does that all the time, that person is able to love all these people." - A.S. Byatt ...
I'm really not a trendy person. There may be some styles that come and go that I fall in love with (hellloooo super flared jeans I will always love you!), but overall, I dress in clothes that make me feel good and do my hair in ways that hopefully make me look more put together than I really am. The half-up knot. I've...
That's right, it's time for another writing update. Last month I was updating you on my debut novella, Finding Lily (which comes out on Amazon Kindle on Sept 22, and is available for pre order now). This month, I'm working on the sequel, Fixing Tanner. That's right, it's time for another writing update. Last month I was updating you on my debut novella,...
You can always count on me to take a photograph. I'll take thirty if you let me. But lately, I have felt a tugging at my bones to try something new, and to open myself up in a different way. This is: my attempt at a beginning. This is: September. ...
I truly believe that indie authors need to support one another, which is why I was more than happy to purchase and read these books. 1. The Book of Brave - I've been a big fan of Laura Jane Williams ever since I discovered her on thought catalog. Her brutal honesty about life, love, work and sex is absolutely refreshing. The moment I...
I've always been a morning person. BC (before child) I could basically make my mornings look however I wanted them to, but with a two year old running around, I have to be more deliberate with how I spend my time. These days my mornings usually look a little something like this: I set my alarm for 5am and lay in bed for...
Number of photos taken today: 16 Here's a look at Sunday. ...
Number of photos taken today: 40 Today went pretty much the same way most Saturdays go. Slow and simple. Here's a look at my Saturday. ...
Number of photos taken today: 27 This is how most of my Fridays look lately. They always involve work. They almost always involve take out for dinner. And they usually involve a writing session at Panera. Here's a look at my Friday. ...
Number of photos taken today: 23 Because DJ was back home with this, Thursday felt like a more realistic and complete sample of our every day. I took less photos today than any other day, but still loving the project. Here's a look at how my Thursday went. ...
Friends, it feels so nerve-wracking to be writing this, but so exhilarating at the same time, so here goes: my debut novella "Finding Lily" is now available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle. So much work has gone into this book and I'm so happy to be showing it to the world September 22nd, 2015! You can find it here. ...
Number of photos taken today: 53 Last time I took part in this project I remember beginning to feel a little burned out around this time, but I'm feeling great. Documenting the everyday is kind of my jam. Here's a look at how my Wednesday went. ...
Number of photos taken today: 22 And I made it through Monday unscathed! I actually already love seeing how my days are different from when I did this project last year. Mainly, I now work full-time and DJ spends 2 days with his grandparents and 3 day in daycare. And Dom now works a full-time job in addition to his real estate work....
Number of photos taken today: 55 And I made it through Monday unscathed! I actually already love seeing how my days are different from when I did this project last year. Mainly, I now work full-time and DJ spends 2 days with his grandparents and 3 day in daycare. And Dom now works a full-time job in addition to his real estate work....
Next week begins a #weekinthelife and while it's only my second year taking part, I definitely know ahead of time what I will be able to keep up with, and what will quickly drive me batty. For one: I need to keep things simple, just like I did last year. Unlike last year, I'm now working full-time so I'm going to simplify things...
It's a #projectlife bonanza today as I'm sharing all of my July spreads! ...
For something a little different, I decided to make a quick video to give you an update on how things are going with #FindingLilyNovel. It should be titled something like "Me being awkward as I try to tell you about how hard the editing process is" ...
Happy Wednesday! Today's shop update may be a small one, but it's one I'm excited about. If you've been around since I opened my shop almost one year ago, you may remember the original Here + There set. Well, today's shop update is a new and improved version of that set, called - go figure - Here and There No.2 and it's $1.00...
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When we bought this chair I used to sit in it in the darkness of the freshly painted nursery, rubbing my seven month pregnant belly and wonder what it would feel like to nurse my son right in that spot. And once we stopped nursing I thought about how it would feel to sit with him on my lap and read to him...
It is absolutely driving me crazy that I'm over a month behind in posting my spreads, but I've been super focused on writing my novella, and lots of other stuff seems to have fallen by the way side. Here I am though, with the first two spreads of June. ...
I've had a couple people tell me that I'm moving too fast. On one hand, I can understand why they feel that way, but on the other, I can't help but think: you don't know how long I've been working towards this point. There has always been a rattling against my ribs urging me to write. It's been there so long that it's...
Outside: our bathing suits are perpetually drying on the clothing line, our fingers and toes wrinkled from all the time we're spending cooling off in the pool. I watch DJ grow more adventurous with every passing day, dipping further and further into the water, a perpetual smile plastered on his curious face. He is the best thing I have done in life. Inside:...
I was 16 when I fell in love for the first time, and like any young girl at that age, I thought he was the be all and end all. I had no idea that there would be others after him. He was sweet and kind, with big, light brown eyes and a smile that made everything seem instantly better, and I loved...
I've been quiet, but for good reason. To quote Suzy: "So, I'm writing a book." It has flown out of me so organically that I almost can't believe it's nearly complete. To say that I'm one to start stories and never finish them is an understatement; and that is why, even if this book never sees the light of day, it will always...
Happy Wednesday! And to my Canadian friends and family: Happy Canada Day! I've updated my shop with three new digital products, Sunny Days and Summer Fresh, geared towards documenting your summer adventures. I'm so excited to share these with you because they're bright and fun, and add the perfect pop of color to your project life spreads and other projects. Lastly, is Happy...
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There are things happening, new things and uncharted territory. I'm trying new things and stepping outside of my comfort zone. It feels oh so good. ...
I was yelling. Dom was yelling. And DJ kept on crying, like he had been all day. Some days I can breathe deeply, consciously, and calm myself down. Some days I can remind myself that he's only two and that we're all still learning to communicate with each other. Today was not one of those days. We were tired, the trio of us:...
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Lately, I've found that something curious has been happening... curious for me anyways. I've been finding and selecting books to read in a whole different way than what I'm used to. Before DJ, with much more time on my hands, I would scour bookstores and the library, taking my time to decide on a few books to purchase or borrow. I was known...
Isn't it amazing the way the taste of food can transport us? Recently, I was rushing around grocery shopping and mailing packages alongside many other errands and my stomach had started growling at me mercilessly. As a last minute thing, I threw a package of seaweed salad into my basket and headed for the check out line. Back home, groceries put away, I...
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I design a lot of project life cards that don't make it into any of my sets that go up for sale. It doesn't mean I don't love them, or that they are somehow inferior; usually I just can't make them 'blend' into a set I'm working on, so they sit (and sit and sit). ...
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Happy Wednesday! I've updated my shop with three new digital products geared towards documenting your everyday adventures from your to-do list, to what you had for dinner, to the conversation with your partner over that same meal. I'm particularly excited to share the new Days of the Week No.3 set with you because they're bright and fun, and add the perfect pop of...
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I recently began spending time with a new friend. How we ever came to be introduced has escaped me now (she's likely a friend of a friend of my husbands, or something like that), but that's beyond the point, anyways. The first time we hung out together we went to dinner; two hours of filling ourselves with sushi and easy conversation. After the...
I'm meeting a girlfriend for coffee in one hour, but I've settled into my usual seat now, with a red eye nearby, hopeful to form some words into logical, if not poetic, sentences. I had thought it would be busy in here over lunch, but it's just me and the two baristas (I can't help but think of Suzy and her fear of...
Outside: the heat is ramping up. Every night, some time after midnight, I find myself waking up and tossing the covers off of me in an attempt to cool myself down. I send a reminder out into the air to change out the thick bedspread for a thinner, cooler one, but by morning I've forgotten. Inside: some mornings after Dom has already left...
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Last week I went to the movies with a girlfriend and while the ads ran we talked about our lives. There was talk of our sons (her: two, me: one), our husbands, our busy days and then: our homes. She recently moved into the home of her dreams, and after talking about that for a while, she turned things around saying, "what about...
"So I’m saying enough. No more. Let’s start a little revolution, shall we? Lets take our bodies back and let’s start by changing the way we speak about them." Go read, now. ...
"We suffer, often unknowingly, from wanting to be in two places at once, from wanting to experience more than one person can. This is a form of greed, of wanting everything. Feeling like we're missing something or that we're being left out, we want it all. But being human, we can't have it all. The tension of all this can lead to an...
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I'm super happy to announce FOUR new releases this month. All are available in the shop now! These are lovely and minimal, making them the perfect addition to your project life spreads. For those of you who are pregnant, or who are going back and documenting their pregnancy, I've got two great sets for you. As always, I love seeing what you do...
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Let me start off by saying that I'm using the term "spring" loosely here, because the weather here in Vegas has been quite up and down the past month. I find that one day I'm in shorts and a tee, and the next I'm bundling up with a light scarf. As such, my "spring" wardrobe still includes a good amount of layered items....
