summer manifesto

I never know what magic I will find when I read Ali Edwards' blog. She is amazing. This morning she wrote about her Summer Manifesto- a list of intentions for what she wants to have happen this summer. I think this resonated with me because lately I've been feeling like I have zero control over certain areas in my life. But I know that the only way to move on is to take specific actions on the things I can control, or at least take steps to bring about change. So, why not jump into summer with a plan for fun, right? I think so.

• go wine tasting with friends (this is a bit of a cheat- we're going this weekend to kick off summer and celebrate my girls' birthdays!)
• Hawaii vacation at Aulani!!!
• have at least 3 picnics
• go to the beach at least once a month
• go hiking at least 3 times
• read by the pool
• enjoy cocktails in my "margarita bowls" (an awesome gift from my bridal shower last year)
• perfect the recipe for white sangria
• make an Instagram photo book from Hawaii pics
• try at least 3 new food trucks
• enjoy riesling and watermelon (and enjoy the flood of college memories that go along with it)
• go to the farmers market once a week
• fully enjoy our friends' weddings (we have 3 this year!)
• make popsicles
• read at least 12 books (this is an improvement on my goal for 25 books in 2012)
• keep the basil plants alive
• make a new salad once a week
• go through an entire bottle of hot pink nail polish
• go on a "night walk" once a month
• make our own ice cream
• American Idiot!

project life: weeks 11 & 12

Yay, getting caught up on sharing here! Week eleven actually sat mostly finished on my desk for a while. I had moved on to other things and never finished the title card, so I did that this past weekend. I used some of the newer product I picked up recently including some Amy Tangerine and SMASH tape.

I still love using the Incredibooth app and including the cute little strips in this book. Braden thought it was fun too- he loves hamming it up for the camera! I had lots of photos from their visit so I made a couple of mini collages. It was fun having our two youngest nephews meet again- they are only two months apart, but Braden is sooo much bigger!

 I think that the week twelve title card is my favorite yet! The month sticker is one I've had since my first attempt at a homemade project life in 2010. I forgot I had it, but it paired nicely with some black letter stickers I've also had for a while. And who doesn't love a picture of really good pizza?

This week also documented my latest obsession- The Hunger Games. Devin surprised me with a new Kindle Touch and of course my first download was Catching Fire (the second book of The Hunger Games trilogy). I had been on the wait list at the library FOREVER, and with the movie coming out that weekend I was dying to finish the series. It totally worked out- I finished the second book on the Kindle and then I got the third one just in time at the library (and finished it in about 9 hours).

Friday night we had the Lady Antebellum concert which was a blast. I had been looking forward to that concert for months- I think we bought the tickets back in December, and then they won a ton of music awards at the beginning of the year so the show was totally sold out. I used another flip-up page protector to hold a couple extra pictures I had from the concert and some journaling.

My favorite thing about this project is having a place to document all of these little stories :o)

project life: weeks 9 & 10

I kept week nine super simple using just the journaling cards from the core kit and my photos.

Week ten was another simple week with just a couple of punched tabs and tags.

The picture on the bottom right is actually a flip-up mini page protector. Love using those to add extra photos and journaling.

I like how the overall look of my book is coming together. There's a nice flow  between the weeks when I keep it super simple and weeks where I have more time to play with bits of paper and embellishments. Makes me happy.