enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

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    My new laptop arrived on Monday. And after I got my application icons in rainbow order, I spent yesterday working quickly.

    What a difference all that extra memory and power makes. And I don't think it hurt that I also upgraded from Photoshop Elements 4 to PSE 9. It took me a while to get my bearings back, but oh man. I was due for a switch. To give you an idea, I used to open PSE and then go make lunch. When I got back to my desk, it was about ready to let me work. Good times.

    But now, I'm re-energized! And the blog design workshop is benefiting greatly from it. (Look for the complete launch info early next week & then sign ups on 3/21.) Today I have to make a quick detour to the dentist (I'm a bit worried that I have my first cavity) and then it's back to lighting speed work.

    Happy Wednesday!

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    My parents were in town this past weekend. On Sunday, we drove up to Carlsbad to see the flower fields. For some reason I thought we’d be looking at tulips. I was thrilled to find ranunculus instead. We were a bit early in the season and only one field had pretty blooms peeking through. I am hoping to go back with Paul in the next few weeks to see all the fields awash with color. In the meantime though, here is what was growing at our early visit.

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    That last one is my favorite. I think orange is going to be my favorite color for the rest of my life. It’s because of the wedding, I’m sure.

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    This project was inspired by a post on Black Eiffel last week. I loved Yolanda Sanchez's beautiful paintings so much and though they looked a bit like finger paintings. (Amazing ones.)

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    I had a large canvas and I painted it completely yellow. After it dried, I added finger painted swipes in five colors over and over until the canvas was full. Seriously so simple. And it fits perfectly in our guest bathroom that was in serious need of some color.

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    Dottedline

    26projectslogo This is project 2 of 26.

    I am attempting to tackle 26 personal craft projects before I turn 27 on 02.22.12. You can follow my progress here on the blog, on pinterest or on flickr.

    See project 1.

  • A couple days ago, I was asked in the comments what my days are like. None of my days are really the same. They change a lot based on Paul's schedule or if I have any really important projects to take care of. But this is one of them. It's Wednesday, to be specific.

    8:15ish // awake to no alarm. Paul was on call last night, so he slept (or more than likely didn't sleep) at the hospital. I check email and twitter from bed on my iPhone. Supposedly, that is the worst thing you can do for your stress level, but whatevs. Emails for me usually mean comments or sales or funny notes from friends. What's stressful about that? So I do it. (And love it.)

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    8:30 // coffee maker on, cereal served. At the computer to respond to emails/blog comments, pack an order from yesterday & read about half the blogs that updated during the night. (I am still on google reader but am thinking about making the switch to bloglovin.)

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    9:15 // look over my to do list. Since January, I have been keeping track of my daily to do lists in Moleskine color a month planners. (Looks like they are already selling 2012.) Can't do much until the art store opens and the UPS man drops off the last item I need for my spring kit. So I back up files.

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    9:25 // and then I work on finishing February for my 2011 album.

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    10:00 // still finishing up the February section.

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    10:45 // to the art store. I am so lucky to live very close to such an amazing store. There is about zero chance that I'll ever be this close to one again so I go a couple times a week just because I can. I pick up a piece of map paper and clay for a future project.

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    11:05 // with the map paper, I finish up a custom travel minibook that I made for a lady in Australia. (hi Marianne!) I realize that the extra paper can go towards a few more city mini kits. I have enough supplies for two, so I make & I re-list them.

    I should mention that throughout the day I am listening to Pandora and checking email & twitter intermittently. My laptop is nearly always open and my gmail notifier dings when I get emails. Hence, my (usually) lightening fast email response time.

    11:25 // Paul calls. He's ready to get picked up. Since we moved to San Diego, we have been living with just one car and we sort of love it. I drive him to work on days that I need the car (we live about 5 minutes from the hospital) and he takes it on days I don't.

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    11:50 // we're home. I eat a sandwich at my computer and read blogs. Paul has cereal and tries to stay awake to catch up online himself. (He got two hours of sleep last night while on call.)

    12:00 // we freak out a bit over the new iPad2. It's on my list. But first I need a new computer. We're ordering it tonight before I throw my four year old MacBook out the window for moving. so. slowly.

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    12:10 // Paul takes a nap. While I was out and about, the UPS man dropped off the package I was waiting for so I start cutting down covers. I take a few photos of a complete kit, edit them and get up the spring minibook kit listing.

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    12:45 // I start building kits while watching last night's Biggest Loser online.

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    2:00 // finish the Biggest Loser while playing with clay… I am hoping to work clay into a new 26 Projects idea.

    2:30 // put the clay in the oven to bake. Prep spring kit/ranunculus photo print post for tomorrow. (I type up and schedule most of my blog posts the day before they run.)

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    3:00 // clean up my office area & kitchen. Pack orders that have come in during the afternoon.

    3:30 // get totally sucked into the trap that is flickr, pinterest & twitter and back to flickr, pinterest & twitter.

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    4:00 // Paul is still asleep. I go downstairs to our apartment's shared gym for a 3.5 mile run. I have new running shoes and my feet are slowing getting used to them. I never thought I would get to the point that I actually enjoy running and don't just do it for the calorie burn, but happily, I am getting there.

    4:45 // home. I stretch and read the mail. Paul's awake. We chat, sign up for this new investment plan that I called USAA about yesterday and … buy my new macbook pro! I am so excited to have a new computer. I needed it. The blog design workshop needed it. 🙂

    5:20 // shower.

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    5:40 // we have leftovers from Sunday and we reheat them for dinner. For a veggie, we cook up some brussel sprouts. While eating, we watch Castle. It's a good one.

    6:30 // start our Netflix movie, Despicable Me. Cute but not my favorite.

    8:00 // put in a load of laundry & clean the kitchen. Check twitter & blogs. Add to tomorrow's to do list.

    10:00 // in bed. Paul's out as soon as his head hits the pillow. I read a bit and probably fall asleep close to 11:30.

    And that's that. Sort of boring. But all mine.

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    So far so good.

    This format is working out. I stuck with the same simple style as January. Complete with black machine stitching. I didn't take many photos in Vegas so I used the few that I took with my iPhone ShakeIt app to make a visual from our trip. I transferred the photos to my computer and created a 2×4 grid in photoshop elements then printed it at home.

    You can see January 2011 & more information about this album here.

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    40loaves

    Bread no. 5 : whole wheat biscuits from allrecipes.com.

    Adjustments : nada. I followed the recipe exactly & cut the dough into circles with an upside down water glass.

    Notes : This was my first run at biscuits that didn't pop out of a can. Easy!

    Review :  These were AWESOME the first day and right out of the oven. They got stale quickly though. Perfect for a big group so they can get eaten up right away.

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    Check plus for February.

    Lots of sewing, lots of running (46 miles – 15.5 outside), lots of projects. I got my 2011 book started, my 25@25 book finished and our bedroom decorated. And the blog design workshop is progressing. It's happening. For sure. And after much thought, I decided it will be for Typepad users exclusively because it is what I know best and feel most comfortable teaching. I talked to Typepad to be sure it was good to run the class. They were awesome and even created a discount code for students who will be starting memberships with Typepad because of the class. More info to come later this month.

    I did not get trips booked for when Paul deploys, but that is because he hasn't gotten his orders yet so dates are still up in the air. Hopefully, I will be able to get that taken care of this month.

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    GOALS for March are all business related. To be honest, February was great blog-wise but not great cash inflow wise. I need to turn some ideas into a positive paypal balance. SO … This month I will : get the blog workshop open for registration, launch a spring minibook kit (hopefully this Thursday – above is a color scheme peek) & work photo prints into the etsy shop (EDIT – check that off the list. photo prints now in the shop.)

    Oh, and ONE PERSONAL GOAL : I will use my pre-paid living social coupon for five yoga classes.

    MARCH. Let's roll. Let's get to work. Let's stretch. Here we go.

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    Here are links to everything wedding that I featured on this blog from the engagement to the wedding album.

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    You guys.

    I don't blame you if cannot believe it took me eight months to get this room together. I mean really. It still looks pretty empty. But I should have snapped some before photos. Back when we had mismatched bedside tables and nothing on the walls. Because, at least now, I have put some thought into it. (And it's clean.)

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    It was tricky to photograph. There is only one window for natural light and it's tucked away in a little corner. We didn't have much use for the corner, but it was a good place to stash an extra bookshelf once I decided to reorganize the office.

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    This is a view of the room from that little corner. Week one in this apartment, we took the doors off the closet and bathroom. They both opened in and made for super cramped spaces. I hung curtain rods in each of the doorways and sewed simple curtains to blog off the space. I love the result and will probably replace the closet doors with curtains in all our future places.

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    One of the first changes I made when I decided to get serious about finishing off our bedroom was to buy that mirrored table on the right. It is from Target and is supposed to be a TV console. But it worked with the other bedside table I already had and I like having the extra space for my makeup & etc.

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    Across the room from our bed is our painted dresser. And on top of it is my new favorite art. Screen printed wayfarers from BKNY. They are living in our bedroom now, but I think they will be in a more prominent place in our next apartment.

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    I am on a mission to get more art on our walls. This wall to the left of the bed is a start. From left to right : photo by Christian Chaize at 20×200, a mini bus roll by Kal Barteski & a wedding gift made by my friend Sara.

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    So, that's that! It's done. Finishing off this room and typing up this post just made me excited for when we move again and I can start all over. Hopefully next time around we'll be in an apartment that lets renters paint the walls. I think wall color brings rooms to life and helps them look fuller. It might be that this bedroom would just need a coat of paint and then it would less empty to me.

    Sources : mirrored tables, round wall mirror and lamp base from Target; bed frame and lamp shade from West Elm; dresser and hanging lamp from Ikea; love wood carving from William Dohman; wall frames from Michael's and Target; heart art from Ork Posters (It's so hard to see. I want to reorder it in black & white); hanging necklace rack from Anthropologie; curtains were cut and sewn from a wall hanging sold at Urban Outfitters; random dishes & vases collected from various places; quilt, headboard and silhouette art are handmade.