On The Move

Whoa what a difference a week makes! We are moved, guys! Totally moved (and we have the internet as of today so I can tell you all about it). I never have to go back to that hole in the wall we were renting ever again! Sweet, sweet relief.

After much hoop-jumping and phone stalking on Hotties part (have I told you lately how much I love you and what a terrific genius you are??) we were handed our keys last Monday. I could have cried seas of happy tears right there on the spot. It almost didn't even feel real. I took this picture below with the intention of Instagramming the caption, "you'll have to pry these out of my cold, dead hands.".. 

It's been a long road. I'm happy to be here. We had a ton of issues coming down to the wire and even big-time problems with the movers (think broken furniture, 12 hrs +, and missing parts).. but I won't even go into that because honestly I'm doing a great job of not dwelling on it…. 

It's crazy to me that we got the keys to our new home on the exact date that we traveled here for a brief visit after Hottie received the news of his promotion last year… the exact day… and just now, this week, I finally feel like we can begin our Ohio life together. It's a huge relief. I'm so ready to get our life back. 

Below Hottie is explaining to the kids that they should, "not touch ANYTHING."….as you can tell, they are totally on board with this, and absolutely understand his reasoning…. I'm sure they'll comply.

Settling in is a slow process, of course. A week later I have most of the essential areas unpacked but there is much more to do… much to decide… much to purchase. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pretty overwhelmed. But every time I have a moment where it all feels like too much I take a deep breath, a sip of filtered water, and think… we made it. This is what we were waiting for.

Besides, you never know, cardboard could become the "hottest home decor" at some point. Maybe I'm ahead of the game.

Me & My Big Ideas Par-tay

This week has been bananas. BAH-NAH-NAS! We are packing up every last thing in preparation for our move on Mon/Tues of next week. All I have to say is that I am really grateful I have a husband who works for Trader Joes because it means an endless supply of free boxes. :)

I wanted to stop in quickly this morning in between kids school drop offs to share some projects I managed to squeeze in last weekend.…. I saw that Me & My Big Ideas is having a Design Team Call and at the last minute I figured why not go for it? I love their products and think I could use them in fun, creative ways, so I might as well give it a go! There was a MAMBI party on my desk and everyones invited. Here's what I made..

Love, love the big bold red hearts and the graphic black and white fingers… and labels, I'm a sucker for good labels, hello!

One of my very favorite things that MAMBI is doing right now is the Pocket Pages products. You all know I love me some pocket pages.. I just love their journal prompts mixed in with some fun lettering and even a couple of funny cards thrown in the bunch….

Below is a new take on the Gallery Art pad you can find at Michaels right now. I sewed a bag on there and layered a photo and a smaller paper from the pad. I'm going to stick it up with washi tape in our new home when we move. Have you seen those gallery items? Seriously so cool, and they make decorating a breeze. I already have a few plans with some I picked up for Evareaux's room too.

One last project using layered pocket pages cards (not just for pocket pages you see). I tell you what, MAMBI knows it's way around glitter. This title is swoon worthy in person. 

So that's it! I thought you might need a little MAMBI in your life. Wish me luck on submitting to the design team this week! :) You know my motto, you don't know if you can make it unless you try!

Me Series: July/August

In the grand scheme of things I lost track of sharing my me series pages from the past two months. So I thought I'd share them today. I don't know if I'll get a chance to do the September one since the move is 8 days away (AH! EIGHT DAYZZ!).

For these pages I keep it really true to how I'm feeling on the day I make each layout. So at this time I was feeling really raw and ready to share what's been going on. That's the whole point of the me series… it's not always pretty or happy go lucky.. it's just a little snapshot into my life at the moment. 

If you want to read a little more about why I'm doing this series or see my other pages here are the links: JAN//FEB//MARCH//APRIL//MAY//JUNE 

A little update with me: 

Last week I saw my general practitioner to talk to him about my depression. I'm not gonna lie. it. was. tough. He asked me a lot of in depth questions about exactly what it is I'm experiencing, how long it's been going on, and how I would like to approach getting back to normal. I'll admit I had been dreading the visit with him… it's a really intimidating and embarrassing thing to talk about (I want to be really clear here… I don't think anyone who has depression should be embarrassed.. I'm just saying that for whatever reason I was.. shoot, probably part of the depression, right?)

The thing that was most difficult about approaching a doctor was the inevitable opening of the emotional floodgates.. just owning it like that… and when you seek out a professional for help like I did you are in a position where you have to talk about it honestly and openly. That felt odd to me because I've spent a lot of time trying to push it aside and telling myself that it would go away or I would snap out of it or everything's fine.. and then there I was, admitting that that's just not the case…asking for help to feel like myself again.

In the end it turned out to be a really great thing that he was the one I talked to. He just "got it." He said so many perfect things to me… including "it's NOT your fault…." several times. He said that I didn't choose to be depressed and that I also can't just choose to stop being that way. He told me he sees me for what I am… "a brave, strong woman who can no longer carry the burden of dealing with this incredible sadness while muddling through the day to day tasks required of a Mom and wife." 

He told me a lot of good information about depression.. how it's that feeling of merely existing instead of fully living… going through the motions.. not enjoying things in life anymore that I typically would before.. short temper… impatience.. less self control… losing any sense of hope. He explained what I've been feeling to a tee. 

He also gave me some great advice on how to choose a therapist. It's important that I find someone who will help steer me in the right direction and help me see things in ways I may not have seen them before.. not just someone who will listen and pat me on the back. I need someone who can help me deal with the emotional baggage so that I can move towards happiness again. Saturday I saw a therapist for the first time and although it was uncomfortable it was sort of fine too. I think it will be a good thing down the road and I intend to stick with it. 

In the mean time I'm preparing for this upcoming move, roller derby started back up again, and the kids are in full swing at school. So I'm busy, busy, busy. Just wanted to let you all know that although I'm in the thick of it now I am making real steps towards getting out. I feel good about facing my problem head on and working on a solution. So that's me, right now. Thanks for stopping by. :)

American Crafts August Gallery

These are my last two projects for American Crafts. They were on the AC blog last week but I wanted to share them with you here too...

The lines on this patterned paper inspired me to sew in alternating colors… I like the way it adds visual interest as well as texture.

and heres one about my hair… with just about everything in my stash thrown in…

PS. Maybe you already noticed, but I decided to go for the pink.

I wimped out a little and did the ombre instead of bleaching my entire head… but I've already made up my mind to do the whole thing next time… and even though there are about 10 colors I'd still like to try I think I might even stay pink for awhile. I'm loving how vibrant it's staying. 

Paper Camellia September

As promised, here are the three layouts I made using the September Everyday Life Kit...

For this last one I did add wood veneer, a paper clip, bow and clothespin. I love using up every last piece of my kit and using a bit of my stash to round out the last layout helps.

Thanks for stopping by. Head on over to the Paper Camellia blog and see what the rest of the design team came up with. 

Paper Camellia September Kit Reveal

Now for your regularly scheduled programing….

It's Paper Camellia reveal day. These kits sell like hotcakes so my advice to you is to subscribe so you can be sure to get your hands on one. Seriously, Ria does such an amazing job picking out the contents. Both the traditional Scrapbook Kit, and the Everyday Life kit are wonderful every single month. You really can't go wrong with either of these on your doorstep.

Here are the Pocket Pages that I made this month…

July 14th to 20th

Right side...

Left side...

 Here's a little close up...

July 28th to August 3rd

Left Side...

Right Side...

A couple of close ups..

Pretty cool kit, huh? I had enough of it left over to make three traditional 12x12 layouts. I'll share those soon. Thanks for stopping by.