goodbye october.

I LOVED:
+ sewing a scarf
+ selling stamps
+ designing our Christmas cards
+ helping out at the Turner Car Show
+ doing lovey dovey photo shoots
+ finishing books
+ spending time with extended family
+ getting the menu figured out
+ getting things ready for invitations
+ not having a squeaky van anymore
+ pretty and dusty leaves that smell of fall
+ a new desk at work
+ renting movies with my boo
+ listening to little girls laugh
+ making cupcakes for work friends
+ helping a friend with her costume
+ pretty sunrises
+ watching love movies
+ finally getting things DONE for the wedding
+ hot coffee and journaling

I HATED:
+ self-doubt and insecurity
+ being low on cash til payday. STRESS!
+ Ashley’s mom being sick

tiff and ryan.

In addition to yesterday’s post about Kim and Jeromy, I have lots of Tiffany and Ryan pictures too!

Oh Tiffany and Ryan. What can really be said about these two besides that they are the cutest little lovebirds ever! Their personalities are so very different, but they mesh so well. Ryan is quiet, and Tiff is so crazygirl! Their dogs, Ammo and Jameson, were pretty well behaved, and I’m almost 100% sure that if Jameson could talk, he would admit to loving having his picture taken. He looked straight at me almost every single time.

Tiffany loved the way all of the pictures came out, and that’s all I ever can really hope for.

Cute little family, they are.

kim and jeromy.

Photo sessions with my friends are the absolute best. I feel comfortable with them; they feel comfortable with me. It always makes it so very easy to capture their personality. Laughs, smiles, all of it is easy.

With Kim and Jeromy, it was one of those days where we scheduled a shoot, but really I knew it would be more like we were hanging out – with a camera.

They are the cutest together, aren’t they? I love that they are so in love, and that they wanted me to capture it.

Kim’s sister, Jessica, also came, and we snapped a few of her and Kim together for her dad and grandparents’ Christmas presents.

Looking forward to more!

more new cards.

Now in the Etsy shop.

GO GET ‘EM!

stocked up.

I made myself wait for as long as I could, but finally on Monday when I spent my morning in Kansas City, I went ahead and bought all the paper and envelopes for our wedding invitations and RSVPs and thank you cards. I am loaded up on grey and yellow for quite a while, and I am so excited about it. I will be cutting down our chevron paper for envelope liners and slowly getting things addressed.

I designed our invite to be simple but BOLD, sophisticated but not over-the-top. I love the way that they turned out.

Engagement photos are scheduled for sometime the next few weeks. All these couple shoots makes me so excited for our own. I am maybe too picky about this, but I figure if I’m not picky, maybe nobody else will be either.

happy birthday, little brother.

Happy birthday to you,
happy birthday to you,
happy birthday little brother,
happy birthday to you!

fifty shades done.

These books were…interesting. Slightly inappropriate (if you read one sex scene in them, you’ve read them all). I wasn’t blown away like some women have said they were. The storyline was good, even exciting at times, but it wasn’t an overly scholarly book. I don’t guess that scholarly is what the author was going for though. *smirk*

I am glad I read them. Otherwise, it would nag me that I missed out on a set of books that was so hyped up. Now that I am done, I am looking forward to moving on to a book that better suits my taste. I probably should lay off the reading altogether and get these wedding plans swinging into full gear (slight panic mode).

Fifty Shades. Would I recommend? Yes, for the sole fact that you can see firsthand that it’s not some kind of bookporn that it is portrayed to be.

project life: week 42

So much was down this week. That to-do list managed to dwindle down, and I could not be happier.

Only 10 weeks left to document in this year!

today i am.

+ having the ramp on the van serviced before winter.
+ eating donuts and drinking coffee.
+ blogging (not a surprise).
+ editing pictures from yesterday’s shoot.
+ journaling. My Moleskine misses me.
+ picking up invite supplies.
+ enjoying ME time.
+ dusting off my camera.
+ making more to-do lists for the wedding.
+ forgetting stress that suffocated me last week.

life in squares.

1. This kid is crazy. Tattoos on her face, arms, belly. She had a good time at Aunt Arlene’s birthday party, that’s for sure.

2. Fall is here. Beautiful trees, the smell of dry, dusty leaves, and orange pumpkins everywhere. I love it.

3. I am finishing Blog, Inc by Joy Cho. Such a good informative book.

4. Christmas cards are designed, and I am impatient to start printing and assembling them. Just a tad early, I know.

10.18

I try not to post too many personal things on here anymore. Looking back, I posted a lot of emotional things when I was angry or sad or frustrated.

Lately I’ve tried to make myself stick to a rule that I won’t be such an emotional blogger. I sometimes look back and cringe at what I put out there. At the time, this blog was purely personal, and I was at a very sensitive time so it all fits into who I am at this moment. Not that it’s a bad thing to be an emotional blogger, but there are some things that are better worked out in my Moleskine, not for everyone to see.

Anyway the point is, I try to keep my emotions (the bad ones) under wraps on this blog now, with this one exception: the death of someone who is been important to me. And last week two men I knew died.

First, Terri’s dad. I had only been around him a few times, but he was such a good guy. He was funny and Tim’s kids loved him. His funeral was light and heavy at the same time, with laughs of good memories and the stillness while two Marines gave a flag to Esther. I couldn’t keep the tears in during such a thing.

Next, Dr. Arjunan. My first neurosurgeon. This is the man who saved me, basically. He fixed my neck 3 days after I shattered it, and he checked on me every single day until I left for Craig Hospital 18 days later. He was genuinely excited when my arm used came back so quickly. He laughed when I accidentally hit him in the face (my arms were a little out of control parentheses). He was a good man, and I hope he knows how appreciative I am to him for helping get me and my family through such a confusing and scary time for those first few weeks of my paralysis.

I am hoping to steel off whatever “they come in 3s” superstitions I have. 2 is enough.

10.16

My mom and dad are celebrating 41 years of marriage today. 41 years!

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!

photo purge.

just a little note.

I tend to keep things inside. I tend to over think and stew and just let things bother me that shouldn’t, things that aren’t my problem.

My heart is too soft to feel any other way.

project life: week 40

It was mostly a busy week. Staying late at work and sending Etsy orders and trying to make to-do lists that are do-able then feeling like crud all weekend. I managed to get this week printed and updated on late Sunday though.

Project Life is still going strong around here.

(I really wish I had a new picture of Greg and I to put in this week, but I suppose that’s a goal for next week.)

new cards too!

I am on a roll with these new listings, right?! I found whatever motivation I had been missing and put it into designing and posting the past week or so. It feels good to be creative again after a little bit of a inspiration dry spell.

I am going to blame the burst of inspiration on the warm tea and crisp leaves that come with the beginning of fall. I so love this weather.

These cute little cards are available now in the shop.

new stamps!

There are 2 new stamps listed in my Etsy shop right now.

Simplicity is key for me in stamps. I love simple and bold words.

I hope you do too!

Go get ’em!

october goals

October is here already! This year has been blowing past, and I can’t hang onto it. I need time to slow down so that I can soak in all the good things that have happened to me since last October.

But since that won’t happen, I’ll have to settle for making big projects small, and checking things off the list:

+ engagement pictures
+ order invite stuff
+ figure out menu for wedding
+ gain at least 3 pounds