enJOY it

project life 2013 : week 33 + a giveaway.

August 25, 2013

It's week thirty-three and I love this project.

click the photo to enlarge for a somewhat clearer image.

Week of : August 12 – August 18.

What happened this week? We were home. Paul worked. I worked. Paul's mom and sister came to visit for a few days. Per usual, I didn't get a lot of photos during that time. It's odd, when I have people here, I tend to not take photos. I am so much more likely to have my camera out when it's just me or just us. When we have visitors I am more in the moment.

Anything special in the spread? Paul and I were able to have a "date night" since Stephanie and Kristen could watch Ellerie. I didn't get a photo of us from the date night. But we had our watch batteries replaced before we went to dinner so I took a photo of the watches and added the "story" right to that photo.

Techniques this week : Since I was low on photos I decided to blow up this one that I love of Paul and Ellerie. It was taken with my iPhone and in PSE I converted it to black and white. iPhone photos generally are not clear enough to enlarge, but when they are in black and white it's harder to tell. 🙂 There is a video here that talks about how I print 12×12 photos at home in pieces.

Overall thoughts : Nothing that hasn't been said.

Ratio of iPhone photos to "real camera" photos : 3 to 3.

Ratio of photos taken by Elise to photos taken by Paul : All Elise.

Supplies used : Seafoam core kit, Kelly Purkey letter stickers, Freckled Fawn wood chip arrow, Heidi Swapp letter stickers.

Tools used : Design A pocket pages, Fiskars corner rounder, Zig Millenium pen, Rotatrim paper trimmer, Office Depot date stamp, staz-on ink. All photos were printed at home on my HP Photosmart 2575 printer on Office Depot semi-gloss photo paper.

Project Life is a memory-keeping system created by Becky Higgins. I use photos, text and stuff to document our life weekly. You can see all the posts from 2012 here and 2013 here. Do you have a question about how I am tackling this project (including anything about the photos)? Check here.

Today I am hosting a giveaway for two seats in Project Life Lessons, the three week course I am teaching through Big Picture Classes with Megan Anderson and Annette Haring. The class starts on 9/5 and will focus on taking and selecting photos for your Project Life albums, adding journaling and embellishments, putting your spreads together plus so much more. You can read more about it here.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment below! This giveaway is open to anyone and two winners will be choosen at random next Sunday. GIVEAWAY CLOSED. THANK YOU! 🙂
around here.

August 23, 2013

Our new normal feels good.

I am waking up early when Paul gets up for work which means I have a few hours to myself before Ellerie stirs. I so appreciate the mornings and enjoy getting time for my coffee, breakfast, blog reading and email. I am now able to be completly present for her when she wakes up. I have no idea how long this schedule will last for us, but I'm celebrating it while we have it.

My parents are coming to visit this weekend. I used to look forward to their visits, but now that Ellerie is here, I feel like I count the minutes. Something about sharing your kiddo with your parents is magic, no? It's like bringing home a good grade on a test times 100. I'm excited for her to get time with them, my house to get some new shelves (new shelves = more space for plants) and Paul and I to get another dinner date. The long-term plan is to convince our families to move to San Diego. In the short-term, these weekend visits are blessings for everyone.

Have a good one.
40 pizzas / chorizo & jalapeno.

August 21, 2013

pizza no. 18 : chorizo & jalapeno.

occasion : it's a last hurrah before I try a semi-paleo-inspired diet (I'm currently attempting to go without or with just a little bread, pasta, sugar, cheese & peanut butter).

crust : our whole wheat usual.

sauce : enchilada sauce from trader joe's.

cheese : yellow and white cheddar.

toppings : grilled onion, chorizo, sliced jalapenos, fresh garlic & salsa.

thoughts : we recently went out to dinner and tried a very similar pizza. Both of us were excited to replicate it at home. It's a pretty easy one to throw together because you don't have to "make" anything. The sauce is in a jar & the chorizo is pre-cooked so really you just need to build this one. We put the enchilada sauce down first, then the cheese then the toppings. The salsa was a fresh one from the deli section at our local market and we poured a bit of that on top. Awesome spicy flavor to this one. It might be my new favorite.

ps… that broccoli salad in the third photo is this one.
five minute project / stained letterpress block.

August 20, 2013

I am hoping to bring a new series to the blog this fall – five minute projects. Super simple DIYs that really take the time it takes to buy supplies. Ideally, these posts will take me longer to write than the projects themselves.

Jo-anns has "letterpress wood blocks" on sale right now. This C was $2.50. They are a cute size (5×3.75) and you can't beat the price, but the balsa wood letter did not look very authentic.

I used an old rag and some leftover stain to fancy it up. The trickiest part was getting it in the small creases. But really – two minutes. Tops. And even though the wood was cheap, I was impressed that it took the stain so well.

I'm a fan. Too bad they didn't have ampersands…
it’s nice to be home.

August 19, 2013

Towards the end of July, my little family had the pleasure of being photographed by Tara Whitney. I already loved her, but now Paul and Ellerie are big fans too. Turns out in addition to being magic with the camera, she's a baby whisperer.

The original plan was to have these photos taken when Ellerie was brand new. But we were in the hospital longer than expected and because Paul was leaving, it made more sense to me to wait. And I am glad we did. Five weeks in, when these were taken, we were so much more settled. While my transition into parenthood felt awkward and bumpy, Paul's was the opposite. He's an absolute pro at being her dad. It's been so fun to watch him in this role. How awesome it will be to watch their relationship develop as she grows.

When I look at these photos, all I can really think is that it's nice to be home. It's nice to have all my family members under the same roof. Sometimes, when Paul and I are drinking coffee in the chairs in front of the window or having dinner at the dining table or I am picking Ellerie out of her crib it all feels so surreal. I rattled around in this house by myself for so long getting things prepared. It is wonderful to just enjoy all of that preparation now.

I am thrilled we get to live here for the next four years and glad that we have these images to remember this special, delicate, upside-down time in our new lives. It's messy but beautiful and I am happy to be living this sweet adventure.

Thanks Tara, for capturing us as we are in our home. You're awesome.
project life 2013 : week 32.

August 18, 2013

It's week thirty-two and I love this project.

click the photo to enlarge for a somewhat clearer image.

Week of : August 5 – August 11.

What happened this week? It was a good week. We were home. We made it to the farmer's market. We started using cloth diapers. My photos were colorful.

Anything special in the spread? I used fun cards, badges and stickers from the Kelly Purkey August and September Project kit.

Techniques this week : I found that "Blessed…" image online. (No source to credit sadly.) I loved it so much that I had to print it 3×4 for a pocket. I added some text about how E and I started yoga this week.

Overall thoughts : I love this project. Have I already said that? Enjoying keeping it simple with a focus on the photos. Ellerie is becoming so much more animated and fun to photograph.

Ratio of iPhone photos to "real camera" photos : 6 to 3.

Ratio of photos taken by Elise to photos taken by Paul : All Elise plus a kind stranger at the farmer's market.

Supplies used : Seafoam core kit, Kelly Purkey August and September Project kit, Freckled Fawn wood chip arrow.

Tools used : Design A pocket pages, Fiskars corner rounder, Zig Millenium pen, Rotatrim paper trimmer, Office Depot date stamp, staz-on ink. All photos were printed at home on my HP Photosmart 2575 printer on Office Depot semi-gloss photo paper.

Project Life is a memory-keeping system created by Becky Higgins. I use photos, text and stuff to document our life weekly. You can see all the posts from 2012 here and 2013 here. Do you have a question about how I am tackling this project (including anything about the photos)? Check here.
around here.

August 16, 2013

Really good week around here.

My newborn is becoming a baby! I cannot get over how fun it is to see her grow. The expressions are priceless. Her physical strength is awesome. I'm loving this kiddo so much. We made it to yoga this week. I found a great studio that let's moms bring babies. She hangs out on a blanket at the top of my mat and I can stop whenever to comfort or feed her. It's exactly what I was looking for to help me get active again.

During Ellerie's naps, I was able to get out the sewing machine and start working on what will become quilted floor pillows. I was almost giddy at the fabric store picking out colors – it feels like a random combo for me. I am excited about where these are headed and am so inspired to be making again. I have a list of DIY projects – one or two for each room it seems – that I can't wait to share more about and work on this fall. (Can you believe we are almost to fall!?) Super good stuff.

My instagram sale was a success. It was nice to clear out my closet and send pieces to new homes. I am going to work on a post sharing what I learned if you'd like to do something similar. Thank you if you made a purchase or helped spread the word!

Paul's mom and sister are in town which means we get our first real date night in eight weeks tonight. We've decided to make it a fancy night out which is rare for us. Should be an excellent start to a busy weekend of laying around.

Have a very good one.
40 pizzas / “greek” pizza.

August 14, 2013
pizza no. 17 : greek style.

occasion : it's Wednesday night and we love pizza.

crust : our whole wheat usual.

sauce : red tomato sauce of Paul's concoction (I've shared this before, but here it is again) :
- olive oil
- 1 large garlic clove – minced
- 28 oz can of whole peeled plum tomatoes
- pinch of dried rosemary, basil and oregano
- salt & pepper to taste
Saute the minced garlic in olive oil over medium heat. Add the tomatoes (crush them up with a wooden spoon), dried herbs and a bit
of salt and pepper. Turn the heat up slightly and let the liquid in the
tomatoes boil off. It took us about 20 minutes to get it to a great
consistency. Taste it! It may need more salt. The trick is to NOT taste
it too early because so much will boil off leaving a more intense flavor
and you'll end up oversalting.

cheese : havarti & feta.

toppings : onion, grilled chicken, kalamata olives, fresh minced garlic & fresh basil.

thoughts : I put the "greek" in quotes because I am not sure that throwing feta and kalamata olives on a pizza makes it authentically Greek, but that's what Paul and I always call this pizza style. We make a version of this so often that I was surprised to find I hadn't shared it already. SO good. Be sure to add the fresh basil late (like five minutes before the pizza is ready to come out of the oven) so it doesn't burn. We had havarti on hand and it was amazing, but any cheese would work of course.
i love august.

August 13, 2013

bare escentuals pretty amazing lipcolor in courage, monrow shirred tee dress, argento vivo 'marquise' gold earrings, steven alan twisted gold rope ring, almost makes perfect DIY shelving unit, britt bass navy geo print, a subtle revelry's rice krispies cake, merona chambray button down.

Bit of a random round-up this month. I recently wore that lip color to a wedding and remembered I love it. I'm living in that chambray top. I need an occasion to make that rice krispie cake. (Maybe the occasion can be that it's Tuesday?) And hooray! Paul and I are making plans to tackle that shelving unit DIY…

p.s. friendly reminder that you can shop my closet on instagram until tomorrow at noon PST.
i’m having an INSTAsale.

August 12, 2013

Shop my lightly worn clothes, shoes, bags and jewelry at @elisejoyshop on Instagram. It's auction format and bidding is open until noon PST on Wednesday. 10% of proceeds will be donated to March of Dimes.

Thanks for looking & be sure to follow my random daily photo adventures @elisejoy.