new layouts

It has been weeks since I've made a layout on paper, and I have lots of photos + stories that I want to get on paper before I forget the details.
Instead of spending my spare moments working on my digital project life the past couple days, I decided to make time to work on these three instead. I ended up doing three different kinds of journaling - typed, hand-printed, and cursive. I don't often use my cursive writing, but it seemed to work in this case, since I had a good amount to write about "puppy".

Friday Favorites (spring break edition)

A few of my favorite moments from our vacation in Florida. See you next week!

Project Life - week 7

A little later than usual in posting this week... these pages have been sitting on my computer "almost finished" since Sunday, but I just made some time this afternoon to finish them up. I've been trying to limit the time I spend on my computer while the kids are awake. We all got used to a little too much screen time to cope while everyone was sick. Now I'm trying to wean the kids off of tv and ipad and get things back to normal.

Not too many photos this week, but I enjoyed including some Valentine's Day bits and a few details from our fun weekend. Several fun new digital projects, too!


Supplies:
Cobalt Edition Full Collection
Project Life - The Templates
Everyday Papers by Robyn Meierotto
Borderline Journal Brushes
Banner Labels No. 1 by Katie Pertiet
Photo Journalers V.1
Everyday - ZigZag Tags
Everyday - Alphabetical Cards
labeled days (freebie)

Friday Favorites

Favorite Instagram: "Now here's something interesting..."

Favorite packed lunch: I tried to make L's lunch a little festive on Tuesday by packing some heart shaped strawberries and carrots.

Source: pinktrikedesign.com via Kirsten on Pinterest

Favorite download: Robyn's new ABC digital cards. I'm excited to use them in my Project Life!

Source: blog.landofnod.com via Kirsten on Pinterest

Favorite Pin: Bookcase Dollhouse. I'm starting to think about redecorating the nursery into a "big girl" room for Kenley and I'd love to do something like this. Also, the Land of Nod blog (where this photo comes from) is my favorite new blog find this week. Tons of fun DIY decorating and kids ideas!

Favorite New Recipe: Minestrone Soup from IGE. This was SUPER easy and SUPER tasty. Try it before soup season is over! (I'm secretly hoping for one more big snowstorm).

Have a great weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope you have a happy day with your loved ones.

Project Life - week 6

This week's spread is a little bit blah. Kind of like our week! We were all sick with this and that and the whole week was spent mostly at home, trying to get better. I didn't take many photos, so I just used what I had and wrote a little bit about the week of sickness. Looking forward to a more cheerful (and hopefully healthy) week ahead!


Supplies:
Cobalt Edition Full Collection
Project Life - The Templates
Tiny Templates #1
Everyday Papers by Robyn Meierotto (grid paper)

Friday Favorites

Favorite Instagram from this week:

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Kirsten on Pinterest

Favorite pin from this week: Had to go with the watermelon death star in honor of the Star Wars re-release today. Looking forward to seeing them all with Lachlan in the theater!

Favorite recipe I tried this week: Salmon and Brussels Sprouts with Ginger-Scallion Sauce
Sounds fancy, but it was very easy to prepare! A great weeknight dinner, and my family even ate and enjoyed it (score!). The Dinner, A Love Story blog is one of my new favorites.


Favorite way to relax this week: I have been so sick this week with some yucky virus, and the kids have been sick, too. We haven't left the house much and I've been taking downtime when I can get it. I started watching Downton Abbey and I love it! Definitely lives up to the hype. I also have a couple embroidery projects in the works. It makes me feel like I'm "getting something done" when I don't have the energy to tackle anything else on the to-do list. Hoping for a full recovery this weekend so we can get back to life as usual!

Project Life - week 5

Hello, week 5! This week I did less journaling, and just let the photos speak for themselves. Love that speech bubble card from the PL Cobalt digital kit. Also love how the Everyday papers by Robyn work so well with the Cobalt kit.

Here's something great about working with the digital page templates - I liked the layout of template B, but I had 3 horizontal and 3 vertical photos I wanted to include from this week. So I just rotated the template 90 degrees in PSE and used it for my 2nd page of the spread! Easy!

I covered the faces of Lachlan's classmates in the bottom corner to protect their privacy. They won't have a giant orange rectangle over their faces in the final album. Had to include that photo from their "beach day" at Preucil on Friday. Fun stuff.


Better get back to my sick kiddos. Kenley is getting over another ear infection, and Lachlan is hopefully at the end of a long (or back to back?) cold. Sometimes it feels like we'll never all be healthy at the same time!

Supplies:
Cobalt Edition Full Collection
Project Life - The Templates
Banner Labels No. 1 by Katie Pertiet
Everyday Papers by Robyn Meierotto
Tiny Templates #1
This One Brushes and Stamps
Labeled Journalers #4
Love You, free download from Ali E.

Friday Favorites

Favorite Instagram photo from this week:


Favorite treat on the run:
The Bean Shack. Sometimes a mocha with whipped cream is just what the dr. ordered. Love how convenient this drive-through spot is, they're very friendly and make a great cup!


Favorite meal this week:
At Baroncini's. Fancy schmancy and delicious. Highly recommended.

Favorite Inspiration:
Ali Edwards weekly newsletter, "52 Creative Lifts". I know, I mention her all the time on my blog. She's a scrapbooking superstar! But her newsletter is inspiring for all kinds of creative types. I enjoyed all the links she provided this week. If you have some time to get lost in the internet this weekend, check it out.

Source: factorydirectcraft.com via Kirsten on Pinterest

Favorite Pin:
I've been collecting glass jars for awhile now, and I think I may have found the project I want to use them for...

February Photo Challenges

If you're on Instagram, perhaps you've seen these daily photo challenges? I decided to join in on the one above. But then I came across the one below, and couldn't resist participating in that challenge, as well. Should be fun motivation to take photos in February. You should join me in one or both!

Resolutions 2012: January check-in

Kenley, sorting the clothes she pulled from her dresser

I decided to do a monthly post on the blog to keep a record of my progress on my new year's resolutions. I only want to do this to keep myself accountable, and hopefully to see growth and progress in all these areas at the end of the year.

Monthly:

read (at least) one book per month: I read 3 books this month - the Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy. I blazed through them in the first couple weeks of the year. They're along the same lines of Hunger Games (not as compelling, but I did enjoy them). Zombies and a love triangle, what more could you want?

I also joined Good Reads to keep track of my reading this year. Kirsten W. is my user name, if you want to find me there.

complete (at least) one Pinterest project: see my last post about the Cake Stand/Soap Stand

Weekly:

Make a meal plan: Didn't do very well on this one, but I am making some progress in getting organized. I'm using an app I have on my Mac called Yummy Soup. Instead of just using random recipes that catch my eye from around the web (like I usually do), I'm importing the recipes I use into the app. It is time consuming on the front end, but I'm hoping that eventually it will make it easier for me to remember and find our favorite recipes. It also has a function that allows me to choose meals for each day of the week and make a shopping list.

Create a weekly digital Project Life spread: Done! 4 weeks this month. Love, love, love it.

Daily:

Make an entry in my daily journal: Not great at remembering to do this every day, but I've been catching up every time I get a few days behind, so I call that a success. Sometimes I write a little synopsis of our day, other days I write about just one moment I want to remember from that day.

Exercise and drink more water: Boo. I did awful in this area. Didn't even make it to all of my Friday morning yoga classes, due to sickness. Time to re-commit and make it a priority. And actually visit the move "Move More, Eat Well" classroom and start the assignments.

Thanks for reading! How was your January?