enJOY it

project life 2013 : week 10.

March 17, 2013

It's week ten and I love this project.

click the photo to enlarge for a somewhat clearer image.

Week of : March 4 – March 10.

What happened this week? It was my first full week in the house and I pretty much just got settled in (and obsessed with plants).

Anything special in the spread? I filled a 3×4 pocket with cut off scraps from my triangle quilt. I like the look of them just floating in there. I stitched the pocket closed with my sewing machine and will have nothing behind them on the next page (since I will still be working on the quilt next week). Something different but simple.

Techniques this week : Nothing really. I used deflecto letter rub-ons to get the small black font on the tomatoes photo. I haven't used those in awhile and forgot how much I love them. They are from Staples. I also included sort of a random photo and journaling about my mailbox – having a mailbox on the side of our house is sort of a big deal. 🙂

Overall thoughts : Loving journaling cards. Three were used this week and I've noticed 2-3 are about average for me. Still love photos cropped to 3×4 though, to help break things up.

Ratio of iPhone photos to "real camera" photos : 3 to 7.

Ratio of photos taken by Elise to photos taken by Paul : 10 to 0. All me this week.

Supplies used : Seafoam core kit, Amy Tangerine letter stickers, Paper Source label, Deflecto letter rub-ons (sold at Staples).

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 how I edit and print photos)? Check here.
around here.

March 15, 2013

Pretty quiet week. Getting organized. Getting photos together for a new project. Getting our postage stamp of a lawn mowed. Getting fabric sewn. Getting settled. Also getting a bit tired. I am feeling under the weather and looking forward to a simple do nothing weekend. It's one of my last on the schedule for awhile and I plan on soaking it up.

Have a good one.
baby girl’s dresser.

March 14, 2013

One of my great finds from these past few weeks was a "new" dresser for the baby girl. I was on the hunt for something in a small size with a bit of personality. I found this four drawer dresser at a local consignment store called Stuff and after a quick test of the drawers I was sold. I can always tell something is "right" when I have no doubt and can instantly buy it without needing to email Paul a photo and see what he thinks.

We are going to use it as normal storage (for onesies, socks, pants and diapers) and then the top surface will be a changing table. (We'll mount a changing pad safely on top.)

I completely love the outside as is. I am excited about bringing more wood color and texture into this house (no more paint on great wood!!) and think the original knobs are adorable in their simplicity.

But, while the inside drawers were clean, I decided to fancy them up a bit. I lined them with marbled paper that I had on hand for years (I think it was meant for another project that never took shape). The paper is light wrapping paper weight and I just trimmed it to drawer size and stuck it in with removable tape. Instant upgrade, but nothing permanent that I'll regret in a year.

The drawers are shallow, which is just perfect for tiny baby clothes, but might not be something that grows with her (in which case we'll transfer it to the next baby or re-purpose it in another area of our house).

So now, our little one has a dresser/changing table and a rocking chair. All we need is a crib (this is our front runner) and a bookshelf and we're pretty set in the necessities! I'll be able then to focus on decorations like a rug, art and curtains and we'll work our way up to a complete room.
march : currently.

March 13, 2013

feeling little baby kicks all day long.

loving her and her constant companionship so much.

finding myself singing twinkle, twinkle little star out loud so she can hear my voice on the alone days.

incredibly grateful for my parents and their hard work this past weekend.

happy to have the washer and dryer hooked up.

looking around my house and seeing "complete" projects.

filling the house with an absurd amount of plants.

dreaming about sheer white curtains in our bedroom.

planning some big art for the walls.

planting a vegetable garden.

taking a run at growing artichokes this season.

still deciding what another new plants to try.

thrilled to have made it to 27 weeks with this pregnancy.

praying for the remaining 13 weeks to be healthy and simple.

marveling over a calendar that involves plans for 10 out the the next 13 weekends.

saying good-bye to my belly button…

…and welcoming with open arms a growing baby bump.

re-watching FRIENDS from the beginning for the 95th time.

sewing black and white squares together.

wearing maxi skirts everyday.

savoring my one cup of coffee & cereal with banana each morning.

getting through this second deployment much more gracefully.

soaking up the sunshine.
DIY wooden plant stand.

March 12, 2013

One of the first projects my mom and I talked about when we saw the house on my birthday last month was how I needed something in front of the big picture windows. The windows are gorgeous and even though the backyard needs work, it's pretty and gets great light. I wanted something that didn't take away from the view at all, but still provided a bit more interest than a baseboard.

We decided on a low plant stand that spanned the width of the window. What it would look like and if I would make it or buy it was yet to be decided.

When she came down the next week, we found the unfinished furniture leg section at Lowe's. The mid-century looking peg legs were perfect and about $3 each. The best part was the legs were short – 5.5" tall – so they would get the plant stand off the ground without infringing on the window.

I bought a piece of wood at Lowe's that was 9.25" wide and had it trimmed down to 5.5 feet which was about the length of the window. This past weekend, my dad screwed the legs into the bottom and stained it with Rust-oleum Dark Walnut wood stain.

My plan would have been to stick the legs on the edges, but my dad pointed out that it would bow in the middle from the weight (this is why it's good to have help on DIYs sometimes) and so we stuck the legs towards the middle about 18 inches.

We let it dry for a few hours then brought it inside and I filled it up with plants. I tried a variety of pots and a variety of plants but the best look came from a set of various sized terracotta pots and a mix of succulents, a small fern and a small snake plant.

A few of these succulents I purchased because they were fun and different varieties, but two are just clippings from the backyard that may or may not root, we'll see. (And I will keep you posted on all my succulent re-rooting and propagating experiments.)

The plant stand to the right was a recent craigslist find and the diamond rug is from Target (and currently on sale!). The little wooden plant stand that is on the plant stand for extra height was found at a used furniture store last week. I want to go back and buy more of them! This window area is going to become the best little sitting space, but I have a long way to go to get it right. For the moment, I am cherishing view and the good feeling that comes with having one of my projects off the list.

please note : I know this plant stand and many areas of my house are NOT baby proof. I recognize that this means we'll be doing the re-arrange and re-decorate shuffle when the baby girl becomes mobile. I also know that right now, this plant stand is making me happy and that in nine months I'll be excited for a change and something new that all three of us can love and enjoy. No worries! We'll deal (happily) when we get there. 🙂
old about page.

March 11, 2013
This is me. Well, it’s me in a photo taken by professionals with mad skills.

This is also me. Awkwardly taken with the self timer on my camera.
And also, I cut my hair and ADORE it short. Please remind me of this in
five months when I think it will be a good idea to grow it out.

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 six 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 took photos on my computer to commemorate the moment.

And a year and a half later, on 04/24/10 we got married in Sacramento in front of all our family and friends.

That’s me with my bridesmaids at our rehearsal dinner.

And that’s us right after we became husband and wife.

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 and deciding to make a lasting commitment
bits, 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.

And “this” is a bunch of little stuff – (you can read more about how my day-job breaks down here). I sell rubber stamps & books. I teach workshops. I was honored and thrilled to design the Seafoam kit for Project Life which is available for purchase here. But really, my focus is on this blog.
I have realized over the past year that writing and making stuff is my
passion. I work really hard to develop original, creative and honest
content and greatly appreciate the sidebar advertisers that help keep
this site running.

I talk a lot about 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.

Nope, I really could not.

Paul and I currently live in Southern California – at the moment in a
townhouse 200 steps from the beach. Paul is a docter in the US Navy and
spends some time deploying overseas. It is very important to me to stay
positive and active while he is gone. (You can read more about that here & see more military posts here.)

Through deployment, I have learned the importance in treasuring the
moment and celebrating the everyday. The time we have together is
special and precious. And soon, our little family of two will become
three! We are expecting our first baby in June 2013 and are so excited
about this next adventure filled step.

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.

p.p.s. here’s a day in my life (from spring 2011).
a tour of the backyard jungle.

March 11, 2013

When we first saw this place online we couldn't quite figure out the backyard. It looked like it extended pretty far back – at least two and half times the actual house size. It looked…overgrown…but other than that it was hard to tell what was what.

Now that I am here and have explored a bit, I am overwhelmed, but totally inspired by this space. Let me give you a quick tour…

The main living room opens up with sliding doors to the manicured section of the small lawn. We've added some patio furniture and a little rug for a cute outside sitting area. To the right, there is a brick area that eventually will get a picnic table or more outdoor seating. Paul will BBQ out here for sure.

That round thing is a fountain. I want a backyard fountain about as much as I want a backyard pool which is ZERO amount. 😉 We will be taking out that fountain once Paul gets home and hopefully sticking an above ground fire pit in it's place.

To the opposite side of the house (the bedroom side) there is a gravel area that was marketed as "RV parking." We don't have an RV, but I appreciate the large sunny space very much and this summer, the space will serve as my container garden area. I am going with containers again this year because it's easy and I figure the more pregnant I get, the more I'll care about ease. Ideally, by next spring, we'll be able to plant directly into the ground and/or build some planter boxes.

Behind the manicured lawn section there is a little plot of slightly manicured succulents. This little hill area in front of the chain link fence holds oodles of different plants, but the trouble is finding them amidst the dried out gray bits.

I am currently in the process of weeding through the dead and giving the live stuff more room. The hope is that once the space has been cleared out, the good, green stuff will fill in nicely. We are also going to trim back some of those tree branches and just "fancy-up" the whole space. This is a spring project. I'd love to have this area looking nice by the time Paul gets home and the baby is here.

And then the real adventure begins beyond the chain-link fence.

Sometime, years ago, a stone path and pipe rails were added to make climbing up this hill a bit easier. It's not exactly pretty, but it's helpful, this hill is steep.

As you walk up, there are some good plants (like jade trees!) and some weeds and some junk lining both sides. I am not sure what exactly we'll do to make this space more functional, but surely something can be done.

Or hopefully something?

At the top of the little hill is a decent sized chunk of flat land. I would LOVE to make this the garden area in a few years. The issue will be getting water up here for the veggies, but there is an old hose on the ground so I have hope. This will be another Paul Project, so again, it's something we will not make progress on until next spring.

At the back of the property is another chain-link fence and a shed that truthfully I was scared to go into. My dad checked it out this weekend and turns out there was nothing but old newspapers. We're safe.

You can look down and see the back of the house from up here for some perspective.

It's a lot. It's exciting. It's overwhelming. It's ours.
project life 2013 : week 9.

March 10, 2013

It's week nine and I love this project.

click the photos to enlarge for a somewhat clearer image.

Week of : February 25 – March 3.

What happened this week? The movers took everything out of the townhouse and I drove down to San Diego. I spent a few nights at a hotel in Little Italy and then moved into the new place. Mom came down for the weekend and we unpacked the whole house.

Anything special in the spread? Two inserts this week. One is a 5×7 journaling card with the text from this blog post on back and front.

And the other is a nine-pocket page that I cut down to just six pockets.

On the front of the photo insert, I included photos of my new finds for the house. On the backside, I stuck photos from Paul's trip to Seville.

Techniques this week : I filled a manilla card up with my "HELLO" stamp and added in a bunch of the things I am welcoming this week and in March.

Overall thoughts : I am so excited Paul is sending photos for me to use in the album. It's CRAZY how different our lives are right now. It can actually be sort of
frustrating at times to be going through such different stuff, but I
know we'll balance back out in a few months. I am glad I can incorporate both into the album.

Ratio of iPhone photos to "real camera" photos : 9 to 8.

Ratio of photos taken by Elise to photos taken by Paul : 12 to 5.

Supplies used : Seafoam core kit, Studio Calico Project Life kit (holla tag), Elle's Studio journaling card, Elise Joy stamps, Paislee Press calendar card, Banana Fish Studio globe tag, Studio Calico patterned paper, Basic Gray for Studio Calico letter stickers, Elle's Studio journaling tag, Paper Source label.

Tools used : Design A pocket pages, 5×7 pocket page, We R Memory Keepers 9 pocket page, 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? Check here.
project life 2013 : week 8.

March 9, 2013

It's week eight and I love this project.

click the photos to enlarge for a somewhat clearer image.

Week of : February 18 – February 24.

What happened this week? Paul, in Spain, visited Cadiz for the pre-lent festival. My mom came down to help get the old house in order to move out. The packers came. I turned 28. I signed Escrow paperwork twice – once in our house with a notary and once in San Diego at the Escrow offices.

Anything special in the spread? I added a small 5×7 insert to hold the journaling from my birthday post. Instead of just printing on cardstock, I printed on lightly patterned paper by Amy Tangerine. The number paperclips are from Studio Calico.

Techniques this week : Nothing special. I was SUPER low on photos this week… that's what happens when life gets crazy, so there is a lot of text instead. Not ideal but it is what it is.

Overall thoughts : I created this entire spread on Wednesday, a week and half after the week had ended because of the move. It was hard for me to go back and play catch up; it's not the way I like to work on this project. BUT, it's good practice. I know life will get crazy with the addition of the little one and catch up might be the name of the game for awhile. 🙂

Ratio of iPhone photos to "real camera" photos : 5 to 1.

Ratio of photos taken by Elise to photos taken by Paul : 4 to 2.

Supplies used : Seafoam core kit, Studio Calico Project Life kit (hello 3×4 card), Paislee Press heart transparency, Freckled Fawn wood chip, birthday cards, Amy Tangerine patterned paper (kraft), Studio Calico patterned paper (dot), Evalicious flair badge, Studio Calico number paper clips, Martha Stewart & Avery labels.

Tools used : Design A pocket pages, 5×7 photo pocket page, 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? Check here.
around here & new stamps.

March 8, 2013

I've been in the new house a week! And it's settling quite nicely. I have both parents coming into town this weekend to help get stuff hung up (like new lights and towel racks), hook up the washer and dryer (it's a process because we have to add ventilation in the garage), build an indoor plant stand and tackle the backyard. My list of "Dad projects" is quite long and I am so lucky to have help for the next few days.

My first "Elise project" is going to be a new black and white triangle quilt for our bed. It's been awhile since I have made a queen size quilt, so this is going to be a fun one. I am going to be changing out our black and white chevron headboard for something different (though I am not exactly sure what yet) so the new bedroom will be getting a completely new look. Something more subdued than teal, I think…

Some fun non-house news : because I was able to get settled fairly quickly, I was able to re-open the shop earlier than expected. This week I introduced four new stamp designs. These are fun ones that reflect my life at the moment I hope they connect with some of you too. You can shop books and stamps here.

I hope you have a happy & productive weekend!