enJOY it

about elise.

August 1, 2011
photo by Tara Whitney

My name is Elise. I live in San Diego, California with my husband Paul and baby girl, Ellerie. We just purchased our first house, a single story, light-filled space built in 1961.

photo by Tara Whitney

I have been blogging since Christmas day 2005. And I started a blog for the same reason everyone does… I thought I had something interesting to say. Over seven years later and I am still typing away. For better or worse, this makes blogging my longest running hobby ever. And it’s the one I would most like to keep.

When I started this blog, I was a single girl in the middle of her junior year of college at USC. I was a business major and surrounded by a gaggle of great girlfriends. Today, my business major has come in handy and my girlfriends still surround me. Only now it’s through email and sadly, we don’t still live in a big sorority house.

After I graduated college I followed my heart to the east coast and moved in with my then boyfriend, Paul. It was the best decision I ever made. We lived together for a year and a half and then, in our kitchen, while wearing pjs and making dinner, Paul asked me to marry him.

We were married in April 2010. I would not change one thing about our wedding day. You can read all about how I DIYed it up here.

Amidst the falling in love, deciding to make a lasting commitment bits and cross-country military moves (Paul is a doctor in the US Navy) I kept blogging. And kept crafting. Soon my blog and my shop became a business that allowed me to forsake all other day jobs (and there were a lot before I found the right fit) and just do this (you can read more about my business story here).

Right now my biggest project is called MAKE29 and you can read more about that here. I am currently working on a day planner + goal setting workbook that should be available in Summer 2015.

Over the years, I have talked a lot about blogging and running a small business, but here are a few posts that really cover it.
I could not be happier about what I get to do for a job.

The one piece of information that I would want a reader of this blog to take away is everything is what you make of it. Have a goal? Write it down. Then set a plan and make it happen.

Thank you for visiting this space. I spend an awkward amount of time with it and it makes my day that you come read what I write.

With so much love, elise

p.s. got a question? check here.
palm springs minibook.

August 1, 2011
I knew when we went to Palm Springs & Palm Desert a few weeks ago that I would want to make a minibook of the trip. I wasn't sure how it would come together but figured I'd fall back on my usual stand-by which is a 4×6 horizontal album in a limited color scheme with sewn details. (see : my honeymoon album and spring break album.)

This style is easy for me to work with because it's just limiting enough to be freeing and the main emphasis is on the photos. I started by picking the color scheme.

And that was easy enough. My photos were filled with blues, browns and yellows so I choose papers that had the same colors. I didn't end up using them all but from left to right, the brands are : American Crafts, Jillibean Soup, American Crafts, My Mind's Eye, My Mind's Eye, Echo Park Paper Co, Hambly & Hambly.

I went with a circle theme through the whole album. The theme was repeated in three ways.
1. through circle patterned papers.
2. using my sewing machine to create circles.
3. freehand cutting circle embellishments out of patterned paper and photos.
I also used the same paper bag cardstock for all the text pages and designed the text pages the same way. Fonts shown on the text pages are Bead Chain and GeosansLight.

For this album (and every other mini album I make) I just adhered the backside of the pages together. So whether it was photos, cardstock or patterned paper, it just got stuck together with a roller adhesive. You can see more of my page gluing process in this video (start at the 5min mark).

Something that I did differently in this album than others was include 4×4 photos that were taken with the ShakeIt app on my iPhone. I had these photos printed along with the regular 4×6 photos through scrapbookpictures.com. I tend to use my iPhone for more "in the moment" shots and am glad to get them included. It's something I will definitely be doing more of in future minibooks.

If you are curious about getting digital text in your minibooks refer to the second video in this post. It's the exact same process just a different layout. I hope that will answer any questions, but if you have more, please ask in the comments!
we made a video.

July 31, 2011

e & p @ waterfront from elise blaha on Vimeo.

I was enamored with these cute videos from Ruby of Cakies and decided to do something similar when Paul and I went to The Waterfront for the last time this year. (Obviously we'll be back the next time we're together in San Diego.)

The entire video was shot using the iSupr8 app on my iPhone then put together and set to music in iMovie. Song is Magic by Rabbit.

Cannot wait to give this app more use on some upcoming adventures (that means with you girls in NYC, gtrain).
week in the life / friday.

July 29, 2011

FRIDAY : wake up at 7:30 after a rough nights sleep. too much anticipation for Paul to get home and way too much HTML code in my head, I think. cereal & blueberries for breakfast. get right back to work on the new blog design. more progress! am a fan of how it is starting to come together. and I think I've got a way to tie it into the web redesign too. clean the house like a crazy person – bathrooms and vacuuming too. watch the season premiere of Project Runway. am interested. but not interested enough to keep watching through the judges deliberation. realize I have not watched the actual "you're in and you're out" scene since the show switched from Bravo to Lifetime. go down to the gym and run 2.25 miles. slowly getting back on the running horse. terrified that I have committed to another half. back upstairs for a shower. make lunch : egg scramble & cottage cheese. deal with emails. make dough for cinnamon pull apart bread. go to the post office while dough is rising. come home and work on next step of cinnamon bread and get it in the oven. do some computer work. change the sheets on the bed. pull bread out of the oven. looks amazing. photograph (for 40 loaves project) and try a piece. heaven. back to the computer. go for a long walk around the neighborhood. pick up a hamburger from Burger Lounge on the walk home. (see, it's not all fruit and healthy food around here.) eat dinner and get a text from Paul that he'll more than likely be missing his connecting flight due to the failure that is American Airlines. can't even get upset about this bump in the road which is alarming. am now so accustomed to the endless SNAFUs. watch some tv. dream about new hairstyles. get a call from Paul that he is indeed stuck in Dallas overnight and the best they can do is get him to LAX early tomorrow morning. feel awful for him. make plans to pick him up there. type this post and then will fall into bed exhausted.

and that wraps up my week in the life! I am still planning on putting these photos and words into some sort of album. I have an idea for it, but I'm not sure if it's going to work. I have more thoughts on this project that I'll be sharing eventually, but for now… I just want tonight to be over and to be with Paul. I have a few posts scheduled for next week so check back.

have a great weekend.
today’s the day.

July 29, 2011

Paul gets home from a month long training session in Mississippi late tonight.

I am going to soak him up and squeeze him tight and celebrate all weekend long.

This will be our last weekend together in San Diego. Immediately after his deployment, we will be moving north (to the Ventura area) because he'll be stationed at Port Hueheme. It's likely I'll actually make the move solo (well, with the military movers help) so this is really it. Tomorrow there will be two barstools with our names on them at Waterfront and I'll be the girl crying into my beer.

Just kidding. There is to be no crying. Only confetti and joy this weekend.

Next week, we'll staying up by Port Hueneme for Paul to get all the i's dotted, t's crossed and corners tucked in. We expect that will take until Friday just kidding, they are now saying Saturday oh wait, maybe Sunday or back to Friday? some day in the near future and then it will be just me, him, some luggage and an airport.

And then, yes then, the tears will be allowed to flow.

Thank you so much for your words and thoughts and prayers this summer as we have prepped for this adventure. We've had a lot of false starts and I know it's been a little confusing as I've tried to share bits and pieces. I'm living it and most days I'm totally confused.

This is really it though. The end of the beginning or the beginning of the end. Or just the start of the middle.

Deep breath.

*photo circa spring 2007. it's us, before we were living together, before we were engaged, before we were married. and it feels like YESTERDAY. fingers crossed this deployment goes just as quickly.
week in the life / thursday.

July 28, 2011

THURSDAY : wake up @ 8am. check email and flipboard on iPad in bed. microwave oatmeal. oatmeal explodes. toss it and start over. remember to make coffee! add honey and blueberries to oatmeal. enjoy while responding to emails. software wants to update. let computer do it's thing and clean the kitchen. work on a blog post for next week. drive to a 10:15 Bar Method class. it's totally intense. stop at Trader Joe's after class. Trader Joe's has revolutionized grocery shopping for me; no longer hate it with a passion. pick up steak (for this weekend), milk, cheese, cereal and peaches. drop off some old photo albums at goodwill. drive home. finish previously mentioned blog post while eating a peach and cereal for lunch. take a shower. work on big stationery order with a print, trim & fold assembly line. package order. deal with more email. start brainstorming for new blog design. five hours later, still brainstorming and starting to code. even drawing designs through dinner. losing my mind. it's not looking good yet. but will get there. hopefully. eat a banana and blueberries. upload photos, type this post and vow to never to return to the computer again.*

*except really, I'll be back at it tomorrow.
so happy.

July 28, 2011

I mentioned this photoshoot a few weeks ago, but today, I am so happy to share some of the results! I met with The Goodness for some new "headshots" for a couple upcoming projects as well as a blog and website makeover. I wanted about 20 photos. And I wound up with 114. I am so excited to get working on the new site and now I have no reason to delay. Hoping to re-launch in late August (eek!) – but in the meantime, here are some sneaks of the photos! Thank you Geoff and Lisa! Love you guys.
week in the life / wednesday.

July 27, 2011

WEDNESDAY : wake up @ 8:00. breakfast of oatmeal, banana and honey. social media check. get dressed for Bar Method. drive to 9am class. drive home. take a shower. take photos of a minibook and work on some blog posts for next week. put together some fall books (coming in mid-August). make lunch : sandwich + greek yogurt with honey and blueberries. realize the reason I have had a headache all day is probably because I forgot to have coffee. become frustrated because if I drink coffee past noon I won't sleep. film a very important video for a fun upcoming project. spend a few hours editing the video. after much frustration, learn a few tricks on iMovie that make me feel like a professional. remember quickly that I am far from professional. get an email from The Goodness with my recent "headshots." stop everything to look at the photos. blush like a crazy person, but smile like one too. prep a new post for tomorrow morning with a few of the images. take a break from the computer, eyes are starting to cross. change over my big wall calendar to August and start planning posts for next month. walk downstairs to grab the mail. cook dinner. it's what I like to call, "pasta with whatever I can find in the kitchen." tonight that means, noodles with a bit of butter, salt, pepper, olive oil, basil, tomatoes, almonds and blue cheese. super tasty. read some blogs, visit pinterest and watch more Arrested Development. decide to bake something. the stars align and we have everything for these strawberry lemon bars. follow directions exactly but they turn out odd looking. still tasty though. upload photos and type this post.
e & p share their favorite (inexpensive) red wines.

July 27, 2011

Everything I know about wine I learned from Paul. Which is why when I got a request to share our favorite inexpensive bottles I immediately emailed him. He probably just rattled these off the top of his head. The guy has a crazy ability to memorize medical facts and wine labels. Which is exactly what one looks for in their physician husband.

So without further ado …

Shingleback Cab / $20
Line Shack Petite Sirah / $17
Matchbook Cab / $17
Forefront by Pine Ridge Cab / $19
Sobon Estate Zin / $11
Bridlewood Estate Reserve Syrah / $17
Kunde Estate Zin / $16
Montecillo Crianza Tempranillo / $15
Pillar Box Red / $13
The Show Cab* / $12

These prices are what I found via google and of course the vintages may vary. But it's a good start! If you've got a Total Wine near you, go. Their selection is fantastic. And also, please drink responsibly.

*I added this one because the label is awesome. And if I remember correctly, it's quite good.
week in the life / tuesday.

July 26, 2011

TUESDAY : wake up @ 8:10. stay in bed and check email & twitter on my iPad. get up. microwave some oatmeal. toss in some honey & banana. reheat the coffee in the pot from yesterday. pour coffee into my favorite mug ever (a gift from Marta.) respond to emails at the computer while drinking coffee & eating oatmeal. write the rent check. walk down the street to dentist appointment for a cleaning. (I picked this dentist based solely on the fact that I can walk there.) pick up yesterday's mail on the way. it's a few cards I ordered for Paul and some photos. successful dentist appointment. walk home. use photos for a project I'll be sharing on the blog next week. takes less than 10 minutes. respond to emails. finish up my big album project while watching last night's Bachelorette on hulu. eat lunch : a peanut butter sandwich + strawberries and mango. complete my palm desert mini album. sign up for the nike women's marathon because my friend veronica is amazing and got us in. panic a little bit about the half marathon. decide not to think about it until we get Paul shipped out. take a shower. decide to drive to the post office. come home and realize a bomb has gone off in the apartment. turn into a tasmanian devil and pick up everything. start a load of laundry. make a few more bonus kits. respond to emails. type up a few blog posts for this week and next. do a second load of laundry. cook some pasta to add to leftover tomato sauce. pour another glass from yesterday's bottle of wine. eat dinner while watching the glee project. think the glee project is a pretty awkward show. pop in another load of laundry. keep watching the glee project while pinning and drinking wine. realize the show is not that bad. pledge that if there is a fan vote section I will vote for that long haired dude. keep drinking wine. upload photos and write this blog post. after writing this post I will surely return to the glee project and start folding laundry. let it be known that it's not that the show is excellent, but it is that it's summer and I'm watching TV solo.