Thankful

I'm so very thankful for my step dad, Jorge. He's an amazing person and I'm so glad that he and I are so close. He is finally done with his chemo treatments and now just has a few tests ahead of him and we're hoping he will officially be in remission soon. Please keep him in your prayers!

There's so many things I want to share with him in the years to come so I need for him to be around for a long, long time! Here's a layout I did a while back about Jorge with photos we took on Thanksgiving.



I am also thankful for beautiful winter skies in Miami and sunsets like this one. This is the view from the windows in my office.




Happy Hump Day!

Peace and happy scrapping,
Vanessa

Jan Cocoa Daisy Kit

Yesterday I got together with Ady, my BFF, for a few hours at our local scrapbook store, Scrapbooks 'n' Stuff. We chatted, got caught up and had a delicious Panera Bread lunch. Then I was off to get a mani-pedi. Suffice it to say that I wasn't very productive, but it was fun! I did play a little with my new January kit from Cocoa Daisy with some of Lily Bee's Vintage Poppy goodies. I lifted this layout from the Scrapbook.com gallery and I love it! These colors go so well together!



I also started a little mini album inspired by my BFF (thanks for the great photos, my friend!). It captures all the fun we had on our little Redland Rally Riot scavenger hunt last weekend. I'm quite excited about playing with this album next week. :)

Last night, my hubby and I went to see The Lovely Bones, which I was dying to see. It was a great movie. Very gripping and hard to watch at times because of the subject matter. It was weird to see the contrast between the two worlds, but this is what makes it such a unique, other-worldly movie.

If you didn't catch my last post, check it out! It's all about my favorite new items debuting at the CHA-Winter event this month. Lots of great stuff and I included lots of links!

Peace and happy scrapping!
Vanessa

Scrapbook Retreat | Cocoa Daisy Layouts

So who is ready for a Scrapbook Retreat in a beautiful Central Florida resort far away from everyday stress? Throw in some AMAZING goodies because I know that Damaris always gives us the latest and greatest scrap stuff... Coupled with a group of fantastic women who will make you laugh till you cry... oh, and then there's the yummy food and deliriousness that comes with three days of non-stop scrapping... I don't know about you, but this sounds like a recipe for the perfect retreat to me! LOL! This September, Damaris is organizing a retreat at the Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howie-in-the-Hills. I cannot wait! :) For more info, click here.

I've been playing with my December Cocoa Daisy kit for a few days and here are a few layouts I made.

This is my sister-in-law, Roxana, at the convent where she is "studying" to become a Carmelite nun. For those of you that aren't aware of this, she cannot leave the convent and the family can only visit once per month through these gates. I know this is the path she has chosen, but it has not been easy for her family to accept.



This is Richard's friend, Karen, on her wedding day along with Richard's other UF Gator friends. The layout was inspired by the Cocoa Daisy gallery.



This photo was taken at the same wedding. I included a Christmas card that Ady gave me on this layout. I kept moving things around because I wasn't entirely happy with the layout, but in the end I just adhered it. Notice the stitching around the edges :)



And this is my mother-in-law's beautiful Christmas tree. It's magical! I meant to add the dark red strip of paper more toward the right side, but I wasn't thinking and I realized it after it was all done! LOL! Trust me, I was completely sober when I did the layout!



Peace and happy scrapping!
Vanessa