We Will Always Have Paris

Two For Tuesday: Asymmetrical Tunic and Windshield Cover

Ohhhhh!!!!  Two recent faves:

1.  This Asymmetrical Button Shirt!  I bought this a few months ago and loved it so much that I bought another in a different color.  It is roomy and has the all-important "cover my butt" feature I love in a shirt.  I will say that the black shirt was made of a thicker, richer material than the grey one I ordered afterwards.  I don't love the grey nearly as much as I love (LOVE) my black shirt.  Click here to get yours!2.  Magnetic Windshield Cover.  Although the D.C. area has been enjoying springlike temperatures this week, I know the snow and ice will be returning soon (February is always the worst around here).  I have had windshield covers in the past, but I absolutely love this one because it has magnets rather than ties to hold the cover to the car.  LOVE THAT.  As a Southern California transplant, I feel personally attacked when I have to chip ice off my windshield (why me?).  I love that I can put this bad boy on before a storm and then pull it off when I need to drive -- no need to scrape layers of ice off of my windshield.  Click here to check it out!

Disclosure:  I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  

Two For Tuesday: Dreambook For 2018 and Baby Milestone Blankets

(OK, totally not a Tuesday, but I needed to get this out there before they go quickly!)

Two things I cannot live without this week:

1.  Rituals For Living Dreambook for 2018.

I am a planner by nature.  Pen and paper.  For years I was loyal to Franklin-Covey and loved my classic planner.  A few years ago, the Franklin-Covey pages no longer worked for my crazy-busy life.  I had stopped goal planning and just focused on the day to day.  In short, I had stopped dreaming.  In 2017, I purchased my first Dreambook.  (Click here to watch a video and see how it works!)  It was a life changer.  I can still plan the day-to-day (get the kids to dance and school and schedule the AC repairman), but I can also focus on the next year to ten years.  Once again, dreams and goals are being written out and put into action.  The pages help you map out your goals and how you are going to get there (my favorite pages are the monthly breakdown of goals).  Please note that the 2018 Dreambook is in pre-order status right now.  Preorders will ship October 10, 2017!  

2.   Baby Milestone Blankets. 

My neighbor is having a baby any day now.  I saw this on Jane.com and immediately happy clapped!!  My babies are too old for the blankets, but I can sure as heck live vicariously through the new baby next door!  There are thirteen different styles (check out the princess blanket) and they are only $27.99 each!  Know someone planning to have a baby?  Be sure to look at the pregnancy (40 weeks on the blanket) style!   Act quickly as the Jane.com products go quickly!

Note:  I am an affiliate for Jane.com and get paid when you purchase items through the above links, but I ordered the baby milestone blanket before I signed on with them!  

Two For Tuesday: Kate Morton and Avery Elle Simply Said

My picks for the week:

1. Books by Author Kate Morton. Last week I finished Kate Morton's The Lake House, my third book by Kate Morton.  Holy cow, was it good!  If you are a fan of suspenseful novels with dark secrets that take place in foreign places, you'll want to try one of her books.  This book was so good that I had to flip to the end to see how it ended, just so I could stop my racing heart and enjoy the story at my own pace.  My favorite Morton book is The Forgotten Garden (A little girl is abandoned on a ship to Australia in 1913 with nothing but a suitcase of clothes and a book of fairy tales!), but I first fell in love with Morton when I read The Distant Hours (Eccentric sisters living in a decaying English castle!).  I think I'll try The Secret Keeper next!

 

2. Avery Elle Simply Said Dies and Stamps.  I absolutely adore the Simply Said Hello Die from Avery Elle.  The stamps that coordinate with the die give you so many options!!  I was able to whip up a stack of quick and easy cards in a snap.  My ten year-old daughter joined in and was able to make one as well:

Not too shabby for her first card, right??

Note:  This article includes affiliate links.  That being said, these are items  I purchased for myself (or plan to buy soon).  They were not given to me and I am not paid for any endorsements.  Should you decide that you can't live without them, use the links and kick a little money back my way!

Two For Tuesday: YouTube and White Mountain Puzzles

My current addictions:

1.  YouTube.  Pinterest and YouTube have replaced the need to EVER buy another crafting magazine.  Sorry.  It's true.  The only crafting magazines I ever buy are the ones in which my friends have had something published.  Great visuals can be found on Pinterest and amazing tutorials are everywhere on YouTube.  Instead of cuddling up at bedtime with a glass of wine and the latest Creating Keepsakes (sooooo 2005), I find myself grabbing my iPad (and the wine... there will always be wine) and falling down an internet rabbit hole.  I thought I'd toss out my favorite YouTube channels (make sure you sign up for an account and click "subscribe") and you too can be inspired by some amazing designers.  Here are my favorites:

• Jennifer McGuire Ink - My favorite of all the crafty YouTubers.  Her stuff is amazing.  Be sure to check out her organizational videos as well as her technique videos.  It is all good!
• K Werner Design - Gorgeous envelopes, lots of watercolors and supercool lettering.  Inspiring!
• Papertrey Ink - One of my favorite stamp and die companies.  Watch the Party Pops video here and you can thank me for helping you spend your crafting money!  Seriously.  I watched the video.  I bought the stamps.  I couldn't help myself.
• Silhouette America- Santa brought me a Silhouette for Christmas this year.  I am loving the videos on this channel!
• Altenew- One of the hottest new stamp companies.  Check out their layered floral stamps.  I love, love, love!  Love them so much that it hurts.  Financially.

In addition to the crafting channels, I'm also loving these:

• Bad Lip Reading- I don't care which political party you belong to, you must watch both the Democratic and Republican debate videos.  My daughters have memorized them.  Pinto!  Pinto!  Wahahahaha!
• Fat Quarter Quilts - I swear to you that I have had "make a quilt" as one of my New Years Resolutions every damn year for at least ten years.  This channel might inspire me to get my act together!!
• Boho Berry - My favorite planner/bullet journal YouTuber.  This girl will change your world.  Holy cow!!
• Soap Queen TV- My latest passion - soapmaking.  OK.  Passion is overstating it.  I keep buying supplies, but haven't actually made anything yet.  But if I do, it will be because of this channel.
• WOW Presents- THIS CHANNEL IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.  If you love drag queens like I love drag queens, you'll want to check this out.  Bianca Del Rio is my favorite drag queen and her "Really Queen?" series cracks me up.

Once you click "subscribe" when logged in to YouTube, your account will regularly update with the most recent videos from all of your subscriptions.  Every night I have new material to watch/learn from/laugh at. 

Now that you've seen some of my faves, what are yours?  I'd love to add more viewing material to my nightly addiction!!

2. White Mountain Puzzles .  We always have a puzzle in progress at our house.  It is something that every member of our family can work on and something we can do together.  It is the perfect activity for rainy days and snow days (ahem... like this week) and boring days.  When we've had a stressful week, I pull our puzzle out and set it on the kitchen table.  Putting pieces together soothes the soul.  We keep our puzzles on a large piece of particle board and when it is not in use it is store on top of a bookcase in our living room.

White Mountain puzzles are amazing quality and are easy to work through because the pieces are easily identifiable.  We recently completed the 80s puzzle above (get yours here ) and it was fun to shout out "I'm working on Mr. T... if you find a piece of Mr. T, give it to me!!!".  We've put together over a dozen White Mountain Puzzles and I cannot recommend them enough.  Here are some of our faves:

Go get yourself some puzzle therapy.  It is good for you!

Note:  These are affiliate links.  That being said, these are items  I purchased for myself (or plan to buy soon).  They were not given to me and I am not paid for any endorsements.  Should you decide that you can't live without them, use the links and kick a little money back my way!

Two For Tuesday: Lettermate Stencil & K-Cups

Two things I'm loving this week:

1.  Lettermate Stencil.  Have you seen this?  Have you seen the amazing ways people are addressing letters with it?? Check out this YouTube video and Lettermate's Pinterest boards.  Oh....  Mama needs...  Get yours here.

2.  Cinnamon Churro K-Cups.  I tried this brand a few months ago and loved this flavor. I love cinnamon flavored coffees and this one is sooooo much better than the Cinnabon version.  It is a refreshing change from the standard K-Cups sold at your local big box retailer.  Plus, these cups are recyclable!  I toss the grounds into the garden and the cup into my recycle bin.  It's all good!  Get yours here.

Note:  These are affiliate links.  That being said, these are items  I purchased for myself (or plan to buy soon).  Should you decide that you can't live without them, use the links and kick a little money back my way!

Two For Tuesday: Stamp Organization and Pencil Case

I've been working on getting the studio re-organized for the past couple of weeks.  Here are two things I'm loving:

1.  Jennifer McGuire's Clear/Cling Stamp Storage:  Have you seen this?  Oh my!  The amazing Jennifer McGuire has come up with a great way to store your clear and cling stamps.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, please go check out this video.  I've completely re-organized my stamp collection.  It is so much easier to find my stamps now...

 

I found a ton of pink plastic folders at Wal-Mart for $0.50/each.  I cut them down to make my dividers (I think she gives the measurements in the video).  Here are the supplies I used for mine:

 

I have been slowly labelling and organizing all of my old cling mount (including Stampin' Up!) and acrylic (including CTMH) stamps.  I am pondering pulling all of my old wood mounted rubber off their mounts and storing them this way as well.  I have an entire wall of stamp drawers, and I could really use the space.  Plus, I REALLY love this system...

2.  This super-cute pencil case on Amazon.  I'm currently obsessed with grown-up coloring books and bullet journaling.  Both require colored pencils.  I've been keeping my colored pencils in an old coffee cup in my desk drawer, but I could never really see what pencils I had.  After some research, I discovered this bad boy:

The elastic in the case is only big enough to hold pencils.  You won't be able to use it for Copic markers or Sharpies, but I absolutely love mine.  It comes in a handful of colors, but you can't go wrong with pink.  You'll find it here:

 

Note:  These are affiliate links.  That being said, these are all items I purchased for myself and am absolutely using.  Should you decide that you can't live without them, use the links and kick a little money back my way!

Two For Tuesday: Coloring Books and Cat Diaries

My two faves of the week:

1. Splendid Cities Coloring Book.  I love to color.  Loooove to color.  I've been delighted by the resurgence of coloring books for adults.  I've looked at a number of them before I stumbled on this one -- a coloring book featuring whimsical skylines of iconic cities !!  I'm currently working on the domes of Moscow. Next I'll have to treat myself to the publisher's sister book -- Secret Paris!

 

2.  Sad Cat Diary Videos.  If you have cats or have ever had cats, this is a must-watch.  With the addition of our latest kitten we now have three cats.  I realize that makes me a crazy cat lady and I'm cool with it.  This video absolutely cracks me up.  My entire family quotes it over and over again on a daily basis.  Here's my favorite quote:

"Dear Diary, It is three in the morning.  The authorities have closed the door to the bedroom.  I can only assume that they have forgotten about me and have left me here to die.  As a last resort, I will stand post for the rest of the night and sing the song of my people in hopes that they rescue me."

Sing the song of my people!  Hilarious.

 

Two For Tuesday: Mason Jar Pour Lids and One Night Werewolf

It's been so long since I've posted a "Two For Tuesday"!  Here are two things that I absolutely loved this summer:

1.  These awesome mason jar pour caps. I put them on a regular mason jar and voila -- a water bottle without all the chemicals that come from my water sitting in plastic!  I bought a couple of the caps and have not had a single leak.  Love, love, love!  In the past I have bought glass water bottles, but they always seem so delicate.  An old-fashioned sturdy mason jar just makes me happy. Click here to get yours.

2.  This fantastically fun family game    Our friends Cory and Amy introduced our family to this interactive role playing game.  Each player is assigned a character and (after a series of instructions to swap cards, peek at other players cards, etc.) the object is to "out" those who were assigned the role of werewolves. Players ask each other questions to determine each person's character.  You may choose to answer truthfully or lie (or in the case of my six year-old, answer each question with a non-answer such as "I like corn dogs").   Each game lasts less than ten minutes and you can download an app to lead you through the role play. 

Our entire family absolutely loves this game.  Unfortunately, I have discovered that my ten year-old can lie directly and convincingly to my husband without him ever doubting her.  It does not bode well for the teen years...  We've shared this game with other friends and it was a huge hit. Get your own game here.

Note:  These are affiliate links.  That being said, these are things I purchased for myself and absolutely love.  Should you decide that you can't live without them, use the links and kick a little money back my way!
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Two For Tuesday: Instagram Love

I'm not a huge Instagram-er, however, I do love to dabble.  I recently stumbled upon two super-cool ways to save my favorite shots:

1.  Origrami Prints.  Oh!  Oh!  Oh!  Mama wants!  I'm thinking about uploading some photos from this summer and having them made into Origrami prints and give them to my girls as "end of summer" gifts (maybe in their Kindercones?).  I adore the mini camera case that they come in.  Beyond cute.  This would also make a great gift for grandparents!  And it would be an amazing way to remember a vacation!  The ideas are endless!!

2.  ImageSnap Ceramic Tiles.  How cute are these?  Have your Instagram photos printed on ceramic tiles!  They come in a number of sizes.  I love the idea of little 2"x2" magnets ($4/each) for the fridge and 4.25"x4.25" ($13/each) coasters for the living room.  If you have a truly spectacular shot, you might as well go for the 12"x12" ($35/each).  I'm thinking this shot from earlier this summer might be my favorite:

Hope you're feeling inspired to get some of those Instagram photos off the web and into your hands!

 

Two For Tuesday: Sweets

I'm craving something sweet...

1.  "The Sweet Life" Line From Jenny & Aaron.  I positively adore Jenny and Aaron over at Everyday Is A Holiday. I have several of their pieces displayed in my studio and I think I bought up every set of their notecards when they were at Michaels.  Imagine my delight when Jenny announced that her new line of scrapbook papers will be carried through Melissa Frances.  I just checked and you can get them at Scrapbook.com!  Maybe if I get my act together (and both kids in school!) I can put on another "Summer In Paris" retreat and have her come teach down here.  Sound good?

2.  Schnecken from Queen City Cookies.  Ohhhhhhhhhhh....  Hubby ordered a classic schnecken for his mother this year for Mother's Day.  Butter.  Cinnamon.  Butter.  Raisins. Butter.  Vanilla.  Butter.  My mother-in-law declared it to be one of her favorite Mother's Day gifts, claiming to have eaten the entire thing in one day!  I'm thinking I want to try the bacon version when it is back in stock. Bacon and butter?  How could you go wrong?

Yummy!