Weekend in Review Vol.#9- In the Bean

This weekend was spent catching up in Boston with family and friends. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to take pictures really, but I still wanted to document what I could. Above is a picture from an alley in Boston by Salem Design. I love it because it captures the city in such a beautiful way! It's getting really cold here now, and I'm hoping that we will experience a white Christmas this year.

I spent some time with the most adorable baby, my little cousin Audriana (who is already going on 4 months)! She is so precious, and I love that little hat so much- I  just had to get a picture of her in it!

And while getting in a little Christmas shopping yesterday at Kohl's, I cam across this wall art that I love- perfect words to live by! xo

Weekend in Reveiw Vol.#6- Thanksgiving & my 100th post!

I can't even believe that Thanksgiving has already come and gone! We are now on the heels of December!! The holiday season has rushed upon us yet again! It's so crazy how this time of year always creeps up on us before we know it!

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving with family and/or friends. I know I sure did! It was quiet and really gave me time to reflect on what matters most in life- family. I came up with the menu this year; from appetizers to dessert and prepared the whole meal myself for the first time (with some guidance from mom of course). It was really fun and felt rewarding to sit at the table on Thursday afternoon, knowing how much hard work and love I put into everything that was there. I must say that the turkey, dressing and everything else came out pretty delicious (for a first timer). Everyone was proud, including me!

I'm also proud to announce that I've FINALLY made it to my 100th post! It's a little sad to say that it's taken me a couple years to make such a benchmark on my blog, but in another way, it's definitely something to celebrate- a sign of great progress (especially within the last couple months). Since taking the Blogging Your Way e-course by Holly Becker of Decor8, I've kept up with my posts much more often and feel that I've come a long way in such a short time! I highly recommend this course to anyone who has a blog and wants to learn new ways to improve it or if your someone who is interested in starting a blog, but haven't taken the plunge just yet! There are so many helpful lessons, filled with invaluable information and resources! So if you are the slightest bit interested, I suggest you check it out! *wink*

Thanks for stopping in and reading my 100th post! I appreciate YOU, the readers who take the time to visit and add feedback which is always welcome! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! xo



Photos taken by; Wahkuna

Weekend in Reveiw Vol.#4- Meeting the newest family member + NYC

This past weekend was really nice! I was able to meet the newest little family member (baby Jaydin) who is a little over a month old now and SO adorable! I also made a quick trip to NYC and did a little browsing (while my brother was auditioning). It was such a beautiful night in New York yesterday, you almost didn't need a jacket...

The holiday lights were draped on the tree lined streets and it seems everyone is starting (or possibly finishing) their holiday shopping already! In passing, I heard a few people saying that they've finished their shopping and I can't even fathom that idea, because I haven't even started! Although, there won't be much shopping for me this season, but I will be doing a little something *wink*. Have any of you finished your holiday shopping yet? I often wonder how early people start!?!

I stopped at Paper Presentation (which is one of my favorite stationery stores in NYC) where I picked up a few novelty pieces of decorative paper. While I was there, I also discovered a new stationery line that I'd never heard of before; Bonnie Marcus Collection- Where Fashion Meets Paper. I love her style- where she combines fashion illustration with stationery for all occasions! Check out some of her collections if you haven't already!

And lastly, the view of the Empire State building from 18th st. & 5th ave. was beautiful (in honor of Veterans Day). I hope you all enjoyed your weekend too! xo


Photos taken by: Wahkuna

Weekend in Reveiw Vol.#3- Sleepover at Vozinha's

Lately, I always find myself reminiscing about the "good ole days", when I was young enough- not to have any "real" problems or responsibilities. Of course those days are long gone, however it's nice to think back on them every now and again, to remember where we came from and what made us the people we are today. Some of my fondest childhood memories are the sleepovers I had at my Vozinha & Vovo's house (which means grandmother & grandfather in Cape Verdean creole). Sometimes I would sleepover my grandparent's house alone and other times I would be with my cousins, which was a real treat (considering they all lived an hour from us)! There was always plenty of love, laughs and good food to go around at the sleepovers. Oh how I miss those days!

Now that I am a young woman, I'm still lucky enough to have Vozinha in my life. She's 80 years old and still kicking! Vozinha is quite the feisty one (which is why she has outlived the rest of my grandparents), not to mention she's like super woman! I'm so grateful to still have her in my life. And lets just say that now-a-days when I have a chance to sleepover there, it's so much more special, because it makes me feel like a kid again, like I'm reliving my younger years all over again. This weekend my cousin Lanita and I slept there one night and she brought her new little baby, Audrianna for quality time with Vozinha (her great-grandmother). It was 3 generations having a sleepover- something you don't hear of everyday, and most certainly doesn't happen very often. Here are some images I captured with my phone while we were all together;

Isn't she the cutest baby ever? I mean how can you resist that face! *smile*

As for the rest of my weekend- it was pretty low key. I finished working on a scrapbook/guestbook for the Bat Mitzvah event I posted about here, which I will share with you soon. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and was able to spend some quality time with family too...

That's it for now, be back soon! xo

Photos taken by; Wahkuna

Personalized Bat Mitzvah Collage

Recently I worked on another personalized Bat Mitzvah collage (for an event coming up in a few weeks) similar to the one posted here. It's a very special keepsake that measures 32x40", made up of personalized photos and memorabilia. Its displayed at the Bat Mitzvah celebration for guests to enjoy and preserved in a large custom made shadow box. The theme for this celebration is different shades of purple with a splash of zebra print. It's always so fun to make these keepsakes, they tell a big story and there's so much to look at, you'll never get bored! Also, this type of collage can be made for ANY occasion! The sky's the limit! xo

A few close-ups...

Photos taken by; Wahkuna

Bringing in 2011!

Happy New Year to all!

It's about that time again, we're out with the old and in with the new! I hope you all enjoyed your NYE festivities! We kept it low key this year, but enjoyed ours very much. There were dinner reservations at 9:30pm, the food and service was excellent and we were home by 11:15pm. We turned on Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve celebration and watched the ball drop in the comfort of our own home with a bottle of beer and a glass of wine. It was simple, yet fun and we enjoyed every minute of it!

So now it's on to a new year, new possibilities and new goals ahead. I have many things I'd like to accomplish this year, but I'm going for a simpler/smarter approach. I want to do what I say and not just say what I want to do (as I have in years past). This will be the year of talking the talk, walking the walk and putting the money where your mouth is (so to speak). I have a few important resolutions, but I will keep them to myself and with each passing day of 2011, I hope to prove to myself, silently, that all things are possible and will be achieved.

I'm wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! Live, Laugh & Love often but most importantly, cherish the moments that matter most, the small ones, the everyday ones!

That's all for now, enjoy the rest of your weekend...be back soon. ;-)

A Message of Thanks

image: Thanksgiving 2009 with the in-laws

thank·ful

[thangk-fuhl]

–adjective

1. feeling or expressing gratitude; appreciative.

Origin:

bef. 900; ME; OE thancful.

The hubby and I are headed up to Massachusetts today to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family but I wanted to leave you with a message of thanks in honor of this wonderful holiday! I want to say Thank You, to all of my readers. It means a lot to be able to share my thoughts & creations with you. I know my blogging tends to be sporadic, and not at all continuous, but my goal is to work on that through the rest of this year and into the New Year, so stay tuned!

I would also like to say that I'm so very thankful for my wonderful husband, you keep me "together" and sane & spoiled- if it weren't for you I'd be lost, I love you so much! I'm thankful for my very special mom, who is also always there for me, whenever needed. I'm also thankful for my immediate and extended family, they are the best family one can have, love you all! I'm thankful for great friends who are always there to make me laugh, to have great talks and show me a good time! I'm thankful to have a nice place, a job and a car to get from point A-B. But most importantly, I'm thankful to have life, because without it, none of the other things would matter.

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy this time with your loved ones because these are the memories to cherish!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I wanted to be sure to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!! Today is traditionally a day about love and appreciation towards others with gifts, etc. but I've realized over the years that nothing means more than kind words and acts of love that come straight from the heart. Flowers, gifts, candy and dinner only last for a short time, but the memories are what lasts forever! So enjoy this day with the ones you love and be sure they know how much you love and appreciate them!

Supplies- Floral Patterned Paper: Anna Griffin; Textured Cardstock: Basic Grey; Polk-a-dot Patterned Paper: Studio Calico; Chipboard Letters: Basic Grey; Ribbon; Flowers: Prima; Chipboard Embellishment: ki Memories; Clear Transparency Title & Journal Tag: Me

I would also like to share a couple Valentine"esque" pages that I've recently done.

This first one is a LO about my two cousins, our grandmother and I. The photo was taken at my cousin Lanita's (all the way to the right) surprise birthday party. It was a wonderful night and this picture definitely captured a special moment. This is one of the photos that I will definitely cherish because there's really no other image that has been taken like it (atleast recently since we've all grown older).

I used Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 to alter the photo just a bit. I wanted the subjects to stand out in the foreground so I selected the background, made it black and white

and blurred it just enough so that there are no clear images that are noticeable. I love all of these women to death and they are definitely a few of the prettiest ladies I know! The color scheme I chose is great too! When I recieved the floral patterned paper from Studio Calico I was in LOVE! I think this paper looks great with the mix of white, blue, green, red and a pop of light pink! The floral pattern is very modern and chic which makes this layout fun and pretty! I also used my new BossKut Gazelle to creat the red heart die cut that I zig zag stitched ontop of another decorative heart design that I created by hand. The machine stitch definitely give this layout a handmade feel. I LOVE handmade! Also, one more important element to note on this layout is the floral chipboard that I adhered to the bottom right hand corner of the picture which is from k.i memories, but the original prints where designed by my long time friend Christine! She's an AMAZING print designer working in NYC and when I recieved this package of chipboard embellishments from her I was so excited and taken back! It's very meaningful to use such elements on LO's that I will cherish forever!! Thanks again Christine!!

 The next LO is one that I created about Chris and I of the good times we've had together the last 3+ years. He's a loving husband who's smart, funny and great to be with! I'm very happy that we chose eachother! With this LO I wanted to make the solid cardstock in the background more interesting so I stamped along the edges using a scroll butterfly stamp. I also made 1 of the 4 photos black and white to create a bit of contrast and interest with the subjects. The title reads exactly how I feel...that we are "Better 2gether", inspired of course by the Jack Johnson song Better Together. Love his music. Until next time...Take care and enjoy your loved ones today and always! :-)

Supplies- Solid Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned Paper: Basic Grey; Ribbon; Buttons; Letter Stickers: Pink Paislee; Chipboard Letters: American Crafts; Clear Stamps: Studio G; Paper Flowers: Prima

Birthday Wishes

While I attended a crop this last weekend, I made 2 cards. One of which is for my grandmother's birthday tomorrow. We have been planning a surprise birthday dinner for her this Saturday with the whole family, but unfortunately she ended up in the hospital on Tuesday. She's doing better now but we are hoping that she continues to get better and is able to be with us all on Saturday. But in the worst case scenario...we can all just go to the hospital and be with her! (My fingers are crossed for a speedy recovery!)

Check out the 2 cards and let me know what you think! ;-)

Our Engagement Party! 8/9/08

Last Saturday was our engagement party and it was really nice! Everyone had a good time, there was lots of food, fun and festivities!! We made it a casual Luau BBQ at my parents home in Massachusetts. The weather was great, the temp was in the high 70's which wasn't too hot or too cold, it was just right for the occasion! Both sides of our families were able to meet for the first time, which was really exciting! I was a little nervous hoping that everything would go off without a hitch and it did! We even had some horse rides going on to entertain the little ones thanks to my parents' wonderful neighbors. I couldn't have wished for a better day, although I do wish I had more time to enjoy the moment and sit and talk with everyone but I'm sure there will be more of that to come in the next year. So take a look at some of the pics I was able to salvage from my camera (unfortunately lots of the photos that were taken are pretty blurry...I think my camera was on the wrong setting most of the time! Uuuugghh!)


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