this place...

this is where I get lost in my creative mind, where time seems to speed by and stand still all at the same time. this is the second most busiest area in our home and I love that. I have great conversations with my children and sister while creating (when it is in the daytime). I love my space and I think every women should have her own special space where she feels special- for some it is a garden,closet or vanity, but for me it is here...  my space is being featured in an article at cartwheels in my mind , more detailed photos and thoughts can be seen there, thanks Cindy!
xo

say, say, say....

happy monday! hope you had a lovely weekend! we are the middle of a heat wave, so we spent most of weekend indoors with very late evening walks and bike rides. I will share some photos of our lovely dinner that I mention on Friday, it was delish! I think I will be making fresh pico de gallo forever and ever, yum! It was a home run for the kids, just saying! :) studio calico's july kit, continental debut last night, here are a few of my layouts for the gallery, rest can be seen here:




studio calico is also offering a promotion: buy any stamp get a Home Front sticker alpha free: This offer is good 6/27-7/20. these are some of my favorite alphas ever, used them in my cali minibook!


hands up for a long holiday weekend, I can't WAIT!
xo

oh happy day!

happy happy friday!I can't wait to kick back and relax this weekend, it's been a very busy week! I am excited to try this family style recipe tomorrow for baha style shrimp tacos. It is super easy and fresh= just my style! s2 and my sister  love shrimp so I am excited to make it for them! I am sure I will be tweeting my progess! :) I have a few sneaks for my july gdt at studio calico.  kit was super easy to work with and I am sure I will make at least one more page for the reveal!




have a super weekend!
xo

satchels of gold

today is super busy but thought I would take a break and share some of my recent favorite images.


look at the cutieeeee little face, we are so happy to have Aiden back home, he was with my mom for a week, then boarded and now back home. He looks so happy right? :)


candle skulls from a shop in old scottsdale, love all the variety of colors!


synai checking out all the pins she earned while on vacation exploring the resort. loved how intense she looks here, the az flag is her favorite


yep, two bags and how you get three on the plane instead of two, shhhh...


really enjoying style files, girls are really bringing the inspiration. Thank you to everyone who signed up, it is an honor to share and create. I offered my summer workshop twice last year, does that sound good for this year too? Let me know if you are interested in the comments section....
okay, i am off have a fabulous thursday!
xo

warp speed

I feel like this week, heck this year is moving at warp speed! I am still trying to get grounded after coming back from vacation. I am thinking about stating a youtube channel with things that i am loving and general stuff, what do you think? We are currently experiencing the hottest June on record which is surprising funny to me after spending a week in AZ where the temps were melt your face off hot, lol.  Finally made a layout with my cocoa daisy june kit, which seems like I haven't done in forever! It was a quickie I made this morning, I love it when that happens.

random: used hairspray for the first time in fifteen years because the heat is murder on my curls and I am loving how it keeping my curls in. what is your favorite brand, heard good things about aussie, but want more options since it is foreign to me....

tv: the city is so much better than the hills (is so obviously fake now); true blood is the bombbbbbbb, omg i love that show; the gates has potential i think;bethenny getting married is great but sometime i think she is extra, you know?;khloe and kourtney take miami is my favorite reality, they crack me up and i know a lot of it is rubbish, but it is so bad it is good.
xo, two more days until the weekend!!

summer summer summertime!

weekend went by so fast this is pretty much how i feel today, lol.
be back tomorrow with some shares and it is officially summer!
rock tha bells!
xo

+

n.o.w

(disclaimer from a sick girl trying to be cute and be in better spirits: excuse the b.pin eyesore, rubber ban (no pony holder they are a scarse as gold in my house) oh and the bags...trying people even though this cold is kicking my arse! :)
my girl, tina did a tag of sorts yesterday so here is my list of things I am into or doing now:

listening: La Roux-Bulletproof and Shontelle-Impossible.
eating: cough drop for sore throat.
drinking: water and diet mtn dew.
wearing: very worn vintage j.crew t-shirt,pants and everday jewels
feeling: stuffy but looking forward the final TRHONY reunion show tonight, srsly kelly has lost her marbles...omg.
weather: sunny and mild.
wanting:  a great recipe for french toast.
thinking: about the beach, doing my week in the life mini as part of my SC july GDT and the people in the gulf trying to get thru this BP oil spill.
enjoying: summer mornings with no school for s2, wearing nude lipstick, tinted moisturizer and  a reorganized desk
wondering: if i am going to like the gates and how can true blood get any better, i mean wow! 

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+ another peek at style files recorded mini workshop, registration information can be found here

a view from the top!

last sunday we went to the grand canyon, a place that was on my list of places to see in this lifetime. It was totally breathtaking and amazing! A place where it took me 33 years to visit but a place I wouldn't have wanted to visit without my family. It was a family experience that I will cherish forever.

lots of water is a must, especially if you are not a native. luckily we are big water drinkers!


it was super hot but not as hot as in scottsdale, can you tell by our faces. sure people spotted that we were tourist from the jump! lol



on the way back down, think we were at 8,000ft elevation, view of the snowbowl on the way back down the mountain. so cool to see snow in that climate! my  sister, b took this picture, she is getting great a taking photos with my camera!
ps, my sister and mom were there as well but their photos were not approved for this post, lol....
thank you for the nice comments about our vacation, promise only one more post!
happy thursday, one more day!!!
xo

iphone caps

hey,hey hey, happy tuesday! I am fighting the beginnings of a cold, blek! So this is a quick post for today, i hate being sick when it is hot! :(
i took a lot of photos with my camera phone because hey it is a lot lighter than my slr and sometimes like to be sneaky when I am capturing family! :)
1. starbucks refuel on the way to the grand canyon near sedona az 2. the grand canyon, so breathtaking! 3.first day at the pool, total joy s2 best time of day to go was 8am...yep you read right :) 4. s1 enjoying avatar the last airbender while in flight 5.monday and heading to the pool again 6. tuesday, roadtrip to new mexico 7. tuesday breakfast spot, loved this sign for the restroom, it was made out of iron 8. some of the catus around the resort, it is really semi-purple- so pretty! 9.SPRINKLES CUPCAKES!!!!! we died and they were delicious, esp. the red velvet!
xo!

so freash&so clean....

love how vacations recharge you, feeling very spunky and happy today w/ outkast song being the anthem for the day in my mind! :) az was amazing and even though we picked the hottest month to vacation but it is all good. look out for a influx of pictures this week, mixed with some scrapping this week! ;) thought i would share some of the amazing food we ate, one of the best parts of vacations is the food experiences, i think...
as you may know, or may not my sister and I love food network and a few of the places we ate at during our stay were talked and/or featured on one of the shows we watch (best thing i ever ate or triple d).
first off: zinc bistro, this eatery was located near our resort. we thought it was good (tad overrated),but it hit the spot since we were starving upon our arrival.

i had the zinc buger w/ truffed gruyere, my mom had the grilled curry chicken salad sandwich and my sister had the cripsy duck confit sandwich.
oh and the fries are a meal upon their self, yum!





second stop: before we headed to NM on Tuesday we stopped at overeasty, a triple d stop. it toally lived up to guy's hype.  I hade the caramel candied pecan brioche french toast with a side of homemade sausage, you can see a piece of it with my sister's pancakes. Synai had chocolate waffles, which she profested her love for, she loves anything in which chocolate is the main ingredient. Saadiq had chocolate chip pancakes too which was amazing! We wanted more from this eatery but sadly had to return the rental the next morning. :(



whoops, that isn't a picture of food, even though I could totally eat him up always! He was so not feeling the lens and we were already into day five of our stay, lol...





and finally grimaldi's=yummiNESS!! This pizza is to die for, a must for the next time I am in brooklyn. The crust on their pizza is thin and crispy which equals perfection in my eyes! :) Our fresh toppings were pepperoni, sausage and basil.


are you drooling yet? :)
xo
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style files recorded registration is open!! You can register here, everyone who registers will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win one good stuff class kit! :)

style files recorded details and registration...

I am excited to offer another new workshop this summer! I received a few questions while on vacation about the class, thought it would be good to post here as well.


How can I register?
You can register below with the paypal button today until June 20th.


How long is the class?
The class will start on  6.21 and will end 6.28.


What is the foundation of the class?
In this class we will remix paper and style together. All the things that you love,paper, ads, magazines, stuff in your personal collection will all be housed in this minibook file. 


What is the cost of this workshop?
12USD


What supplies will I need?
Anything that you love from your stash that you have been waiting to use! I purposely love to use scraps  of my "must haves" in  my minibooks, paint, stamps and ink pads just to name a few. In the sample I made the mini but you are free to use any minibook or moleskin for the base. 


Within 24 hours of your registration being received,you will receive a confirmation, supply list and invite to the private flickr group for the class participants. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. :)


*registration is now closed, thank you to everyone who signed up!

more peeks at style files recorded online workshop

i am pushing the registration back until 6/12. so sorry, we had a storm this evening and my internet has not been very cooperative. :( but here are a few more peeks of the mini that we will be making in the class!  the mini will be a fun mixology of paint, papers, stamps and fashion! thank you for all that are interested, hope to see you soon! if you have any questions pop me an email!
have a great week!
xo

weekend recap

had a very quick busy/relaxing long weekend, hope you had a great one too! a quick weekend in review:

changed up my inspiration wire for spring/summer, really being inspired by photos lately so I thought I would add some of my favorite ones taken by me and gifted to me.


gathering and packing things for our trip this week and these are my reads for when I am lounging poolside and for the airplane ride. I couldn't help but to include one of my faviorites-my SATC book, after seeing the movie on Sunday. I LOVED it, especially the message about carrie's and big's marriage (so them). I loved the clothes (that's a given), location and OMG carrie's and big's home, swoon!! I can't wait for the DVD, have you seen it, thoughts?


did a bit of shopping, you know the travel size purchases but the highlight of the weekend was purchasing these babies! I know they aren't nude like I previously had wanted, but they are clogs and I am in LOVE with them (esp the 70's vibe!) srsly, they feel like sneakers on....so so comfy!



peek at my next workshop: style files recorded.


this workshop will be a fun minibook composed of all of the things that inspire you in and out of your closet!This workshop will feature:

•lots of photos of different sizes
•becoming more comfortable with working with "non-matching"colors
•daily ideas for easy pages
•how to add sewing elements
•mist techniques
•incorporating ads into a minibook
•daily email with  pdf colored instructions and sample for the day

registration will open on friday (6/4) with the workshop starting on monday 6/14 going thru 6/21.
cost:$12USD

please feel free to contact me with any questions!
xo