creative findings

Okay so I know I am not the only one out there who has a problem in Target. You go in to buy one thing and walk out with everything but that one item, so frustrating! My biggest weakness is that glorious Starbucks right inside the door as soon as you walk in. Naturally I had to make a Target run a few weeks ago and was forced to get a slice of banana bread and a hot chocolate on a rainy day. The only benefit of this is that Starbucks ALWAYS has an "app of the week" from the Apple Store. Sometimes they have a featured artists that will give you free downloads to their music, and sometimes you get luck with a awesomely useful app. I happened to pick up the card for the Postale app, in which you can share your travel highlights. 

The culprit card!

In all honesty this app is pretty awesome if you travel, love to take photos, and scrapbook...but without all of the hard work. Here is a sample of one I put together after our family trip to Gettysburg last year. The biggest disadvantage of this app is that it only allows for one photo per postcard. The coolest part is it's finished look. 

Postale sample from Gettysburg

While I was stuck on the couch a for a few days, just watching someone sleep, see previous post here I stumbled across this great product, Project Life. As you can see from my blog I love to live in the moment, but I also like to keep the memories because that's all you have left in the end. This is such a great way for lazy people, like myself, to scrapbook and keep name cards form weddings or maps from vacations with loved ones. This is my next big thing I have my eyes on, and can't wait to get some of her products in my hand. Currently some of her Project Life products are sold at Michaels, but you can also order them online. She has a great selection of designs, papers, and layout styles for just about any creative mind out there.

baby showers and surgeries

I will start this post off with a catch up on my life from the last few weeks...shocking I know. Always behind, but that's because I am too busy living in the moment! 

A few weeks ago I planned and surprised a very dear friend with an incredible baby shower. It wasn't immaculate and it didn't have party favors or crazy weird baby games. The fact that she was surrounded by friends and family who already loved that baby is what made it incredible. She was worried that she would have to buy everything for this baby since it is her second. She told me early in the pregnancy "no one throws a shower for the second child because people already assume you have everything you need." Even though I am not the youngest child I felt bad hearing that and it made me realize that just because its your second or fifth child, you never love them any differently. Needless to say she was surprised beyond belief and was overjoyed by the amount of love and compassion people showered her with that day. 

Mommy-to-be again 

Nursery gifts I made for the mom-to-be

The cake was just as delicious as it is beautiful.

I also took a trip home to see my parents and I enjoyed every minute of it. Once again we didn't do anything "special", unless you count brunch on Saturday, it was all about just being together. We sat around and watched TV, and some of us napped on a sunny Saturday afternoon, but that's what life is about. I also got to see my adorable puppy, aka my thirteen year old dog, before his second ACL surgery. 

pre-surgery

post-op

As you can see he is doing well and doesn't seem to care that he just had his second major surgery in a year. What a tough puppy. I also had to play nurse for my boyfriend after his surgery. It's too bad you can't just put a cone on them and walk away to finish sending emails or make a quick call. It was definitely a learning experience and made me realize what I would do for love, like sleeping on a leather sofa in a freezing basement. Even though it was difficult to balance a medication schedule, meal prep, conference calls, and a mountain of emails I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. 

bonus picture of my "adopted dog" aka Cam's dog Carlos

day in the district

I am once again very much behind on posting. I swear I am eventually going to get good at this whole blogging thing. Just a quick update based on the last few weeks of my life...

My brother and I share a birthday month so we have done joint "parties" before, and now that we are older we tend to celebrate together since we are only separated by a week. This year we took a weekend trip to the capital to do a little drinking and a little sight seeing. It was great to have my mom and my brother there, along with Cam. Here are a few photos from the trip and the hockey game.



starting the day with drinks at the Red Line



on Capitol Hill

rocking the red as usual

Library of Congress

With hockey season coming to an end, baseball season is now underway. This year I will be rocking the red for the home team and also the orange for the boys in Birdland. Stay tuned for more posts about my crazy simple life