Greatest Hits of July (so far)

Tonight, Brad and I are hitting the road for Virginia. I am soooo excited to spend some more time down south with my favoritest people! My sister, Josh, and my boyfriend all in one place. UGH IT’S GONNA BE AWESOME!
We come back before the month is over, but I just know it’s going to fly, and that I’ll have tons of pictures to share from the trip in their own posts. So for now, here are some photos of things from this month that have been pretty great!

Awesome new mug alert! When I visited Catie last month, we stopped at the cutest shop and I grabbed some awesome items, this being one of them. I love when mugs have little surprises inside! Also, M. For Me! Michal Lynn!

So we only did this one night this month, but Brad and I are working on a joint 6x8 Project Life album. I’m excited about it because we are using the Plus One Mini Kit (which is amazing) plus my Studio Calico kits. The whole thing is going to be free-flowing, unlike my fairly structured 2014 book.I can’t wait until we have more time to work on it.

I’ve been doing this challenge on Instagram, #30DaysofBookstagram . It’s a lot of fun and more creative than you might think. One of the prompts was “Book Spine Poetry” and the pic above is my poem. I know it’s geeky, but I’m proud of it!

As you may know, I read Landline by Rainbow Rowell in less than 48 hours. I adore Rainbow Rowell.
I did some nail art inspired by the amazing colors of the cover and gave a shout out to the author, just for fun. SHE TWEETED AT ME AND FAVORITED IT. FANGIRL moment! (And yes, Fangirl is also one of her books!) I also got a little comment from one of my favorite bloggers. I love social media.

These ridiculous dogs! Mia has joined the crew at Lou and Brad’s and she is like 0 pounds and the funniest little thing.
I love that I caught both of them with their tongues out.

Jenna has been in PA for a while, but we only just got to hang out this past week.
I had to do a Party Party .gif with her! Which, by the way, Party Party is the best.
If you check out my IG feed, you will see a lot of #partypartyapp on there!

It’s been a fast month with lots going on. I can’t wait to enjoy some more summer fun!

Tracy & Steve: A Wedding

This past Saturday, one of my dearest friends  (I’ve known her since elementary school!) got married. It’s been a while since I’ve attended a friend’s wedding (as opposed to family, which is still fun, but not the same kind of fun) and it was truly a blast. What’s better than watching your friend marry their best friend, then follow it up with drinks and dancing?
Not many things.

 

Friends waiting for the big moment!

We all agreed she looked stunning. Everything was flattering…the dress, the hair (she wore this awesome headband under the veil), the makeup. Absolutely gorgeous.

MARRIED! And sneaking a peek at us.

The lot of us at cocktail hour, waiting not-so-patiently for the bar to open (I rarely get group photos, so I cherish this one immensely! Everyone is visible and looks amazing!!).

Why yes, I will post an obligatory cute photo of me and my love.

The lovely table setting.

 

Welcome the newlyweds!

 

Crazy boys.

It was such a great time! I love celebrating love, especially with people I love.

Greatest Hits: June Edition

I say it all the time, but life is flying by. The days fly, the weeks fly. It’s insane! Working in retail doesn’t help since I work days, nights, and weekends. I kept thinking today was Thursday. It’s a jumble. Not to mention the fact that it’s also the second day of July. WOW. Breathe in and out.

Every time I want to write, I just can’t get myself to sit down and do it.
So here’s a post of things that happened in June that slipped through the cracks!

So I posted about my trip to Virginia twice, but there’s no doubt that was a highlight of the month. Not just getting away, but traveling that far on my own for the first time. A total of 13 hours in the car, something I’m proud I accomplished successfully (although I’m very glad I’ll be with Brad when we go again at the end of this month!).

I got my first official Studio Calico Project Life kit in the mail. It’s the second one, but I bought May’s box after it was released. In fact, my third box is being packed right now. I’m so excited about this new subscription.
Check out some more information here!

Brad and his friend/biz partner Tim made a short horror film starring their friend Drake that you can check out here.
It was fun watching them in action. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for these guys!

Celebrating some of my favorite peoples’ birthdays (and the new job/move, which I’m kind of sad about).

Brad’s cousin got married in a nice little ceremony with an unconventional (in a good way) reception!

I got lucky and had a whole month of free coffee at Panera (one a day, iced or hot). It was such a lifesaver.
I can’t express how much I adore Panera. It’s my fave place to sit for lunch, read, and get away from work for an hour.

Seeing one of my favorite people, Ed Rafter, even if only for a couple of hours. Lucky girl!

My dearest friend Catie was in from Arizona, so I got to see her for longer than a couple of hours in the past year.
I visited her in Sparta, NJ and spent the night being “Lakeside Girls” with her. So nice to see people I love!

June felt a bit uninspired, but looking back, I got to do some really great things and see some really great people.
A lot of the time, it’s hard for me to step outside of the box and visit with friends (especially when it includes traveling alone or spending money), but I realize the importance of it. It’s good (obviously) to see new places and familiar faces.

A Trip to Virginia

I’ve been wanting to go and spend a legitimate weekend with Maria since she moved out to Virginia two months ago. I really wanted to go with Brad, but he’s been traveling for work and this past weekend worked perfectly this month, so I went for it. It’s always a little nerve-wracking for me driving somewhere new on my own…especially a place that’s over 5 hours away. I was nervous but, luckily, the drive is actually quite easy. Not a lot of twist and turns. Traffic for sure (since you pass by Washington, D.C.), but it was pretty straightforward and enjoyable.

 
I left on National Donut Day…a.k.a. FREE DONUT DAY! I also had a coupon for a free coffee so it was excellent.

A seriously beautiful day for a ride.

My ETA was 2:45 but I ended up getting there closer to 4, thanks to traffic.
I love their welcome mat…come on, how cute?!

Attention to details: Maria got cute flowers for my arrival.

Maria took me to a cool new movie theater to see The Fault in Our Stars and this was what we walked past on our way to the cinema. There was an outdoor concert happening and couples and families with little kids were all over, enjoying the music and each other’s company. It was awesome.

The theater we went to, Paragon, has power reclining “leather” chairs, a tray for food and a cup holder for your drink (which can be beer or wine, which they sell there as well). We had one beer as we waited to enter the theater, but we didn’t get anything else. That stack of napkins was for crying purposes only and I STILL didn’t have enough. Damn.

 

On Saturday, we went to Virginia Beach and had an awesome time. I have pictures on my DSLR that I’ll share later.

Our view during dinner on Saturday.

 
 

Sunday, we headed to Richmond and stopped at the Bacon Festival being held at the Farmer’s Market. We got Chocolate Bacon popsicles, interesting but perfect in the heat. We did some touristy shopping and got food at a small chain, Mellow Mushroom, a pizza place that was delightful.

 
 

We finished Sunday with drinks and music on the porch/balcony. It was such a perfect evening, comfortable and warm.

I left yesterday around 5:30 pm to beat the traffic.
I didn’t get home until about midnight, but I didn’t have to wait in long lines. Smooth sailing.

I am so sad to be back, but I am ready to start planning my next trip. Brad needs to head down there, so I think we will pick a weekend in the next month and hopefully stay down there a little bit longer. I’d like to be able to go to the beach for an extra day or two. Thank you so much, sis, for entertaining me this weekend! It was much needed.
Love you!

Scrapbooking On the Side: Instagram Album

As you know, I love me some Project Life. My passion for all things Becky Higgins, Project Life, or
embellishment-related (like a Studio Calico membership…more on that later) is at an all-time high.
It feels like forever since I’ve worked on my album, but May ends in just a few days, which means my pictures are prepped for printing and I’m excited to finally utilize some of my Instagram-friendly pocket pages this month.

And speaking of Instagram, Brad got me this great We R Memory Keepers Instagram album and pocket pages for my birthday and I finally got around to making my book! The inspiration is 100%% from TracyXO at The Single Girl’s Scrapbook. If you’re not reading her blog, hop to it! Her layouts (and her scrapbooking motivation) are inspiring!
A while back, she made an album focused on the IG hashtag #fromwhereIstand. I loved the idea, so much so that I began to lust after the album and wanted to make one of my own. I was ready to even go through and find any of my feet photos…but then I realized that my most used hashtag has got to be #NOTD (nails of the day). Those who know me know how much I love nail art, and I loved going through my IG feed and finding my favorite nail art.

These mini albums are adorable. When I picked mine out, I got it in one of those bundles on Amazon (where you save money by purchasing related items, in this case the photo pockets to match). There are various colors.

 
 

What I did/used:
We R Memory Keepers Instagram album
1 pack of 4x4 photo pages
1 pack of 2x2 photo pages
We R Memory Keepers IG card set in Indian Summer
4x4 photos (printed off of the Walgreens app straight from Instagram)
2x2 photos (printed via grids on PostalPix app straight from iPhone)
Fiskers Paper Cutter to separate the 2x2 photos

This project just took about 2 hours to do. Unlike my Project Life layouts, this is more photo heavy, with less journaling and even embellishments. For the first time ever, I wrote on the actual picture, something I’ve seen done multiple times but was always a little scared to do. I think this was the best way to try it.

I love the idea of doing this and having a little book that documents my nail art. This month has been pretty low-key in terms of my nails. I spent over a week with naked nails and, in fact, they are actually naked now. I truly love nail art and nail polish, but sometimes the inspiration isn’t there or my nails just need to breathe. As I get older, I know that other things will become priority over nails and so it will be nice to have something to look back on, as nail art has undoubtedly been a definitive part of my life for the last few years. Life is truly about the little things.

If you’re interested in making one of these albums, I recommended taking a look at your Instagram and seeing what types of photos/hashtags you use the most. Maybe you take photos of different coffees you’ve tried, pet photos, or whatever you love the most! Obviously, it can be random, but it’s fun to have a little book dedicated to what’s most important to you at that moment, even if it’s something seemingly silly!

P.S. While I put the album together, I took some square shots on my phone and turned it into a Flipagram.
You can check it out on my Instagram right here!

Birthday Stuff

Monday was my 27th birthday. Wowza, guys. Time really flies.
The past two years, we held some pretty great parties (here and here), but this year was all about simple and quiet.
I kept forgetting my birthday was coming, even when Brad or my mom would ask what I wanted (which I hate getting asked because I don’t want to sound greedy and also, I don’t ever really know).
I knew I wanted a nice, intimate dinner at a restaurant I love and just relax and enjoy some time without work.
Brad made reservations for Rustic Kitchen, Maria and Josh came in for a couple of days, and Nick and Paulina joined us for dressing up, eating a bunch of delicious food, and drinking sangria!

Birthdays always surprise me. I don’t expect anything ever.
But for some reason, I get lovely surprises each year. I’m so grateful, always, to have amazing people in my life, whether they celebrated my birthday with me or not. It is so nice to have a reminder of the good in this life.

Here are some of the wonderful things from my birthday:

   
 
Rustic Kitchen is a restaurant inside of the casino. It’s a chain, but I just love the atmosphere. Lots of awesome lights, vintage posters and wine labels, and some amazing sangria. I had the tiramisu for dessert (with a candle, obviously) and it was probably the best thing I have eaten in a while. That and their amazing risotto balls…holy moly.

I got to gamble a little (no luck), but Maria kept by my side and took so many photos. I absolutely love this little collage!

I was completely surprised by a piñata made by my friend Paulina filled with my favorite candies.
I won’t need to buy any sweets for quite some time.

Brad got me my new favorite jeans ever (and I happen to know that they were 0n SUPER sale). They are high-waisted and freakin’ fantastic. I’ve wanted a pair like this for a while and they are perfect! I think high-waisted is gonna be my new thing this summer. I already have a pair of black shorts I can’t wait to break out for the warmer weather.

More sweet treats. Between the candy (which I’ve barely touched…kind of saving it for those desperate sweet tooth days) and ice cream cake and cheesecake, I had waaaaaayyyy too much sugar this week. And it was delightful!
Also, yes, it was my “Irthday” according to my parents’ cheesecake surprise. That made it better, I think!

To everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday, thank you! It was!