And So It Begins!

You may remember back in May I took part in Lain Ehmann's Layout a Day workshop. It was my first time taking on such a huge scrapbooking challenge and it changed me not only the way I scrapbook but the way I look at the things, and I met some super fabulous people so it was without hesitation that I decided to jump in for the October round of Layout A Day!



This time around we'll be focusing on story so I've pulled some pictures of stories I've been meaning to tell and I loaded up on supplies and tomorrow we start! I'm eager, excited, and a little nervous too. I have to make sure to make the time to scrap even when we have guests in town, even when household chores call my name and especially when I feel like I'm out of ideas or not in the mood but I am also going into this knowing that I've done this once before so I can do it again! And how amazing will it be to have 31 layouts complete before heading into the holiday season!! I can totally do this!!

Falling in Love with Fall

Every September I start my love affair with Autumn! I love this time of year; I love decorating and baking pumpkin treats, I love celebrating Halloween and Thanksgiving and our wedding anniversary, I love the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot and I love how sometimes the weather gets a little cooler - not cool really more like less humid - sometimes!

This year I started my Fall decorating early, I have been just so inspired to decorate and we have some great visitors lined up for the Fall so I wanted to make sure everything was ready and looking great.

Now I start off my decorating by putting out a bunch of more generic Fall items and then add spooky Halloween touches, on November first the Halloween things will come down and the Thanksgiving specific items will go up! I love this process and the last week I've been getting everything just the way I want it and every time I head to Michael's, Joanns or Target I end up with a new item to add to my collection so basically every room in our place is decorated!

Enjoy a little sneak peak and check back because I'll be adding photos of new items as they go up!

Shaking it Up!

I love our apartment, we have more then enough room and it's a great complex but sometimes I look around and want to shake things up. I want to redecorate, reorganize and just add fun and funky touches. So recently I brought up one of my funky ideas to Mike and just like that he sprung into action creating our photo wall.

Aside from a couple of photos I want to change out I am loving this! I love how we mixed and matched frames with scrapbooking layouts and canvases. This has become my new favorite spot, I just LOVE looking at it!!

Welcome to the World Amelia!

I am so ridiculously thrilled to welcome baby Amelia into the world! She is the new born daughter of our dear friends Diana and John - actually they are much more family then they are friends!

Diana and I have known each other for a long time and we've been through a lot together since we met; breakups, makeups, health issues, family issues, weddings, birthdays, and after we moved to Florida I was worried that we would drift a part or that we would miss out on the important things in each others lives but thankfully that has not happened! And now with all this wonderful technology we've been able to keep in better contact then ever! Diana sent me up to the minute text messages while she was in labor! If that's not a true friend I don't know what is and since they've been home we've hopped on skype and chatted. Nothing is better then sitting chatting with one of your best friends while watching her baby sleep in her arms. I'm so glad with everything we've been through I am able to share this part of her journey with her! Now I just have to get up North so I can hold that little baby!!

Your Aunt Danielle loves you Amelia don't you ever forget that!!

Happy Birthday Mike!

Today is my fabulous husband's birthday! Of course being Mike he really didn't want to do anything or celebrate in any special way and this year I obeyed his wishes - sort of! I did make him red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting - I dyed the the frosting blue so that the cupcakes were the same colors as Optimus Prime of course!!

I will continue over the weekend to spoil him and try to convince him to celebrate. To let him know how special he is to me, he makes this house a home and he makes us a family, he works hard to take care of us and I want to celebrate him in return so hopefully I can get him to be a little less stubborn!



In the meantime I hope my sweetheart has the best birthday ever and I hope all of his birthday wishes come true!!

Before My Eyes

Nine years ago today the world changed. The city I then called home changed and I like so many people changed.

I remember the events of 9/11/01 as if they were yesterday, I remember the message my father left for me as he was stuck in Newark airport, I remember the chill I felt as my sister told me she saw the towers fall, I remember the walk from mid-town to downtown, the group we normally commuted with stuck together though we were far from the laughing group we usually were. I remember how my mother hugged us when we finally made it home from Manhattan and I remember the nightmares that haunted me for months afterward. I remember the fear I had in commuting and how for a long time I refused to step on a subway alone and thank goodness for an understanding boss and my dear friend Greg who made sure I didn't have to be alone.

I know the world will never be the same but I hope we learn, grow and stick together. I hope to feel safe again when traveling, I hope to be able to be in a crowded place without suspiciously watching people but I want to never take things for granted and I never want to forget how quickly everything can change.

I hope you will always remember all we lost today and never take for granted all you have.

See Ya Summer

Labor Day Weekend has come and gone and this is the time where everyone says goodbye to to Summer, the kids head back to school, vacations are over and its back to business as usual!

For me saying goodbye to Summer isn't quite as traumatic, for one living in Florida we still have weeks (maybe months) of warm weather ahead - there are still days in the pool and trips to the beach waiting for us.

Another reason I don't mind saying see ya to Summer is that I love the Fall! Fall to me means pumpkins and Halloween, it also means our wedding anniversary and usually the time of year we take a little trip.

Sure we had a great Summer; we swam, we barbecued, we spent time with friends and family but with the end of one fantastic season bring the beginning of another!

See Ya Next Year Summer!