Project Life 2012

HELLO LIFE 2012. That's right! I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and participate in Project Life. These days, my scrapbooking time is somewhat limited, but it's still important to me to document our days and capture life's journey. I'm so excited to be doing this and I hope to be able to continue to add to my album throughout the year.

I am not going to stress out about it because I want to enjoy the process. I plan to break it up by month and I know some months will have more photos or more journaling than others and that's okay. I'll just see how it goes...

For those of you not familiar with Project Life, it's a concept that Becky Higgins introduced where you have a core kit (I chose the Clementine version, which I LOVE) that includes cards for titles and journaling. You insert photos alongside these cards, as well as anything else you are inspired by (receipts, art, greeting cards, event programs, invitations, etc.) And that's it! No adhesive needed and very little (or no) embellishments.

Here's my title page for 2012. Here I did embellish quite a bit and I typed up my journaling, but I plan to keep the rest of the album simple using my own handwriting.




I'm using the Project Life page protectors and envelope pages inside an American Crafts album (from my own stash). I also added Ali Edwards' Hello Life Boxes from Designer Digitals to the front of my album (I may also incorporate these inside at some point).

Are you doing Project Life this year? Please share! Let's keep each other motivated... It's going to be a great year! :)

Merry wishes and joyful dreams!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year's celebration! For me, it's been all about enjoying family time with my Gracie girl. We've been enjoying her first holiday season and cherishing every moment... I just ADORE her so much and I love being a mom. It's a LOT of work and our lives have changed completely, but it's all for the better. I cannot wait to see what new adventures the new year brings!!! :) Here are some of the photos we shot during Christmas...

We attended the local Gymboree Christmas party and took photos with Santa. How fun!



Christmas Eve was at my in-laws' house...




This year, we had our traditional Christmas morning breakfast at our house so that we wouldn't have to wake up Grace early and get her out the door. It worked out great and we had fun... It's just sad that several of my family members were sick and couldn't make it. Darn cold and flu!! :(





At night, our BFF's came over to visit their Goddaughter. She got lots of beautiful presents. What a lucky girl!!!



I feel very blessed and grateful for our family and friends. It was a beautiful holiday season!!!! Hope yours was wonderful as well!!

I'll be back soon because I am actually on Day 16 of my December Daily album (YES!!!! I am CRAZY for doing this, but I love it) and I am also getting ready for Project Life 2012. So exciting!!! Photos coming soon :) I have a new laptop, which makes posting to my blog so much easier.

So much to be THANKFUL for...

Hi my friends,

The holidays are finally here and it's by far my favorite season of all! Love my family's gatherings, good food and cheer, love dressing up my Gracie girl and just giving THANKS every day for having her in my life this year, love the yummy food (but not the calories - ha!), and the cooler breezier weather here in Miami. Thanksgiving was a day to give thanks for all our blessings and we sure have many!!! How lucky are we?!

Here are some photos from Thanksgiving...







Yes, I'm even thankful for Gracie's teething!!! Because even though she's been a bit cranky and tired lately, her first tooth is emerging and that is amazing. Yeah!! Time sure does fly by! Can you believe she's 5 months old already?

I'm thankful to have started my December Daily album -- even if it won't be finished by Dec 1. Hey, I'm a busy girl! Lots going on and I am committed to getting it done, even if it's super simple. The cover is done and I love how it's coming together. I will share sneak photos soon :)

Have a wonderful holiday season and remember to enjoy each and every day -- I am trying to slow down and follow my own advise!!

Be back soon...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me!!!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, but life has been very hectic. I'm back at work and it's been VERY busy and then when I get home my time is devoted to the baby... I have been posting updates on Facebook along the way so send me a friend request if you are on Facebook! :)

Today is my birthday and I am feeling very blessed to have such a beautiful healthy and happy baby girl. How lucky am I?! I love my Gracie girl!

Last night, I got to hang out with my scrappy friends thanks to my bestie who planned an outing to Paper Niche. We had a great time scrapping, talking, eating and talking some more. My sweet friends got me cool presents and we cut a delicious cake. How fun!! I got home at 2 am :) THANK YOU ALL!!!!

Here are some photos from today. We had an awesome dinner at CVI.CHE 105 in Downtown Miami. YUM! Our family joined us so we had a pretty big group.






Have a wonderful week and I'll be back blogging very soon :)

Scrappy Wednesday, umm Thursday

Good morning (or is it afternoon?)! I lose track of the time of day... heck, sometimes I don't know what day of the week it is! Since having a baby it all has become a blur, but life is getting back to normal and I absolutely LOVE being a MOM :) wow, the sound of that alone is pretty damn cool! I can't wait for her to say, "Mama." Awww...

I am loving playing with my Studio Calico kits while I work on Gracie's baby album (which I promise to share very soon!). One of my recent faves was definitely Lawn Party - the exclusive papers in this kit were amazing with gorgeous butterflies and doilies - so girly and so ME!

Here's a layout I created with a gorgeous photo of my hubby holding our baby girl. This was for a SC weekly challenge to use a photo enlargement as the base for a layout. LOVE the result! Photo by Margie Bonilla.





And this one was based on a SC weekly sketch (using SC's Candy Shoppe kit)... I love that I'm finally making a dent in the kits I have been hoarding... Pregnancy really messed with my mojo!





I'm reallllllly looking forward to the SC September kit and the guest designer is Amy Tangerine (love her!)

This Saturday, my hubby will be watching the baby (LOVE YOU HONEY! You're the best!) while I go scrapbook with my girlfriends Wallie, Ana, Barbara, Alma, Esther and hopefully Lou! Looking forward to hanging out and chatting and maybe even creating something. LOL!

Two months old...

Yesterday we went walking in Key Biscayne and we had a fabulous time. It was a beautiful, sunny day!




Don't worry - we cover her ALL up so the sun doesn't hit her! LOL! This is the second weekend in a row that we do this and it feels good to resume our weekend adventures! :) Of course, we can't wait to take Gracie swimming and to carry her in Richard's bike, etc. but at the same time we don't want her to grow up - she's growing sooo fast!! STOP!!!

Our baby girl turned two months old this past weekend. Here are some photos I took with my phone :)




And of course I had to dress her all up for the occasion!! HAPPY TWO-MONTH BIRTHDAY my little munchkin, my Gracie Girl, our croqueta of love!!!

I have some layouts to share later this week!! Be back soon...

Catching the sunrise

We had our very FIRST family outing this morning. Teehee!! So exciting! Since we don't really want to expose our little one to the "outside" world till she gets her vaccines, we are careful when planning our outings. Plus, the Miami heat (mid-90's or more) keeps us inside way more than we would like!



What to do? Get up at 4:45 am and get everything ready to head out to Miami Beach and watch the sunrise, of course!



This was my darling hubby's crazy idea and I LOVED it! We can all go out, avoid the crowds, enjoy cooler temps and have some fun together! It was the perfect solution! Whoohoo!




It was lots of fun to be able to head out together as a family since we have only been to the pediatrician's office up to this point.



The sunrise views were beautiful and the weather was still nice (although it got up to 85 degrees by 8 am!). Afterward, we fed the baby in the car, drove down Ocean Drive and then caught breakfast close to home.



It was perfect!! And although our little one-month-old princess slept through most of it, I think she enjoyed it, too!!



Now what to do next weekend? Hmmm... If you have any baby-friendly outing (or vacation) ideas, please share!