Summer Lovin’: My 2012 Summer Bucket List

POSTED ON July 11, 2012 IN Life Adventures, Memory Keeping

I LOVE lists. For anyone who’s followed my scrapbooking for awhile this probably comes as no surprise considering the number of list-y based projects I’ve done: the Faves, 30 Days of Lists, the 28 at 28 List, Holiday Faves (which was essentially a list in mini book form). Not to mention the number of random one-off list digital scrapbooking layouts I’ve done as well.

But one of my favorite lists of the year is my summer bucket list. Because not only is it a list, but it’s a list full of awesomely fun summertime adventures.

My 2011 Summer Bucket List

Last year’s summer bucket list sadly got a bit thwarted by the insane heat we had here in Texas. I mean, ass much as I love summer, when it’s 100+ degrees for 59 days, even I don’t want to be outside doing anything. So we sadly only checked off a handful of items: Giants baseball game (which was indoors), Schlitterbahn, Barton Springs Pool, summer movies and smores in the backyard.

#SummerBucketListFAIL

My 2012 Summer Bucket List

This year I tried to be a bit smarter about my list, making sure there’s a good mix of do-able indoor/outdoor local activities including a few items I still want to do from last year and a few things Adam requested.

So far our weather has been playing much nicer this year (well much nicer for Texas anyway which means 90s instead of 100+, haha) so I’m feeling a bit more optimistic this year. I mean, we’ve checked off a few items already which is progress my friends…

Swim at a swimming hole
Make homemade popsicles
Take a weekend beach trip
Visit Schlitterbahn & Sea World
Go tubing down the river
Have an awesome visit w/Susan
Make fresh lemonade
Go on a weekend camping trip
Watch a movie under the stars
~~Watch fireworks~~
~~Buy a new barbeque~~
Finish building bookshelf
Visit a new state park
See a baseball game
Use our ice cream maker
~~Go on a road trip~~
Make sun tea
Go on a picnic

Still lots of fun to be had and I admit, I’m a bit giddy with excitement. Apparently my love of summer is still strong as ever even though I no longer get three months off to do nothing, haha.

What about you? What’s on your bucket list for this summer?

Psst…looking for some awesome summer kits? Check out 12 Months: June by Penny Springmann and 100 Days of Summer by Meghan Mullens which I used for my layouts.

Looking to scrapbook your own Summer bucket list layout?

Check out my Summer Lovin’: Fun In the Sun Templates or pick up Summer Lovin’: The Complete Collection to get 9 summer-tastic templates for one great price.

Benefits Of Using Canadian Pharmacy

Austin Renegade Craft Fair, Take Two

POSTED ON June 21, 2012 IN Life Adventures, Stuff I Love

The weekend before my birthday and our Southwest road trip, Adam and I ended up to Austin for one of my favorite events of the year: the Renegade Craft Fair.

If you too are wondering how you can get your husband to accompany you on crafty adventures like this, I have just one word for you.

Bribery.

Our afternoon started with a quick stop at mmmpanadas. We had tried to hit up this food truck once before and missed them so it’s safe to say given all the hype we’d heard about this one, our expectations were high. I mean, if you’re going to plaster you’re one of the “10 Best Food Trucks” right on your truck, you better have the food chops to back it up.

See, bribery totally works. Look how happy he looks!

So how were the mmmpanadas you say?

Well as much as I hate to say it, our mmmpanadas were less mmmazing and more mmmk. Maybe we caught them on an off day, I don’t know, but Adam and I both agreed they were kind of like glorified Hot Pockets – complete with the lack of flavor and the I’ve-been-microwaved-a-wee-bit-too-long-crust. We just thought they’d be a bit punchier flavor wise than they were. The pineapple cinnamon dessert one I chose was by far the best of the three flavors we tried, but even so, I’m not sure this is a food truck we’d specifically seek out again.

But we weren’t about to let our less than stellar food truck experience deter us – there was crafty amazingness to be had!

If you’ve never been to a Renegade Craft Fair, it’s basically like shopping etsy in person. Which is awesome, except if you choose not to buy something, the person who made said items is usually standing right there. Can we say awkward?

No but seriously, the fair was full of amazing artists from all over the country showing off their awesome handmade goodies including etsy staples like this…

Which I have to admit is actually pretty cute. (I didn’t get the name of the artist on this – if everyone knows, let me know!)

I was specifically looking to find some jewelry this time around (my jewelry collection is sadly lacking) and this fun felted teal and yellow necklace from PrettyKiku was one of the first that caught my eye.

These reclaimed wood vases by BDJ Craft Works have been on my mind since I saw them at the spring Renegade Craft Fair last year. The square succulent planter especially caught my eye since we all know I’ve become a little obsessed with succulents lately.

These typographic neighborhood prints from Ork Posters were right up my alley but sadly they didn’t have any for places we’ve actually lived. Where’s the San Antonio love, huh?

These whimsically nerdy prints by anna todaro were one of my favorites of the day. There’s just something about Yoda or Spock surrounded by girly flowers that is hilariously awesome.

Seriously, Abe Lincoln in a flowery top hat? I can’t handle it. Adam and I were really tempted to bring one of these guys home with us but we weren’t sure where we’d put it. Although I totally think it’d be awesome to have one mixed into a gallery full of more normal photos.

You know I love bold patterns so this geometric pottery from Ceramica Botanica totally caught my eye.

These shirts from The Social Dept. were so fun. But I’m pretty sure I mostly took this photo to prove to Adam there were in fact other men at this event.

I especially liked this shirt on the right:

These home items from Cloth and Ink were right up my alley. I loved the mix of colors and patterns.

This notebook from makemynotebook totally made me laugh. I love the idea of a notebook specifically for scheming.

I’m always on the lookout for cute cards I can use as art and I really liked these ones from Satchel & Sage.

These guys from hello wars may just be the most adorable things I’ve ever seen in my life. The Chewbacca one with a bow was totally calling my name but I’m not sure I could handle that amount of cuteness on a daily basis.

This jewelry from Favor Jewelry were some of my favorites. They were the perfect mix of simple yet sophisticated.

If you’re wondering about our process for tackling the craft fair, this is what we do:

We always make two passes – one for browsing and one for buying. The first pass we pick up business cards from any of the booths we like. This way we remember which ones we liked and we have links to their stores if we end up wanting to buy from them in the future. Adam also marked down on the map the booths we for sure wanted to go back to purchase from.

Then once we’ve finished the first pass, we usually take a little break and talk about which items we actually want to purchase (and which fit into our budget). While it might not seem like a lot of fun, I highly recommend setting a general budget of how much you want to spend before you go – with so much awesome stuff, it’d be easy to go a bit crazy!

Once we’ve figured out what we want to purchase we go back to those booths and pick up our stuff. So what did we buy this time?

First up, we bought this card and print from Satchel & Sage to use as artwork for our bedroom:

I also picked out this necklace from Favor Jewelry. A huge shout out to the girl working the booth – she was SO patient with me as I tried on pretty much every necklace they had. They were all so pretty I couldn’t decide!

And of course, I also picked up this succulent planter from BDJ Craft Works:

Afterward we headed to one of our favorite food trucks, Coolhaus, for some delicious homemade ice cream sandwiches.

I’m telling ya, food bribery? It works.

If you’ve never been to Austin before, the food truck scene is basically like this. There are food truck areas scattered around town where groups of trucks gather. Some of them travel around but a lot of them tend to be in the same spot all the time. Which is great because it makes it both easy to find them and you almost always have lots of options in one place.

We love Coolhaus because for $5 you get to choose your very own combo of fresh baked cookie and homemade ice cream.

I went with the chocolate chip cookie and root beer ice cream. And yes, that wrapper is edible – it’s made out of some kind of potato paper I think so you don’t have to worry about eating around it.

Adam went with a chocolate cookie with the Guinness Chip ice cream. I’m not sure what Adam is doing in this photo but I like to think he’s pondering the magic that is the Coolhaus ice cream sandwich. Or praying to the sandwich gods for making it so deliciously amazing. You choose.

Here’s me with my sandwich. What this photo doesn’t show you is these babies were melting like a polar ice caps on the sun – and it wasn’t even that hot by Texas standards!

So despite the fact that we look all nice and calm eating our sandwiches, the reality looked a bit more like this…

…as we quickly scarfed them down before they turned into big melty messes.

And yes I’m going to leave you with this gem of a shot because well, it’s awesome.

Anyone else ever been to a Renegade Craft Fair? Are food trucks a thing where you live? We have some here in San Antonio now but I don’t think it’s quite at the level of Austin just yet.

Psst…want more Renegade Craft Fair goodness? Check out my recap from our 1st Renegade Craft Fair experience here.

Benefits Of Using Canadian Pharmacy

5 Personal Goals for the Big Two-Nine: A Final Update

POSTED ON June 13, 2012 IN Goal Setting, Life Adventures

You thought I’d forgotten all about these little birthday goals, didn’t you…

Well the good news is despite my not posting a blog update on my 29th Birthday goals since last September (for shame, I know!), I actually have been making progress on them all year long. And since I said goodbye to 2-9 and turned the big 3-0 a few days before we hit the road for vacation, I thought today would be a good day to do one final goal-tastic update before moving on with my plans for my 30th Birthday year.

If you need a refresher, you can read about my love for Birthday goals and my 29th Birthday goals here or read my 4 month update here.

1. Become a Time Management Guru

Can I say I achieved time zen? No. Guru status? Not so much.

But I can say that in this past year I’ve come a long way from where I started.

I mentioned in my last update I had started using a sketchbook as a place for all my random thoughts, notes and well, sketches. Considering this past week I started sketchbook number 2 because the first one was filled to the brim, I’d say the sketchbook and I are very much in paper-lovin’ non-techy love.

But beyond the sketchbook, I learned two very important time management things this year:

1) Saying NO is key. 99% of my time management problems stem from the fact that I simply take on too much. The look on Adam’s face when I’ve listed out everything on my plate has told me as much. But it’s tough because I have a million ideas and love to help, so it’s way too easy for me to say yes, both to others and myself, when I really need should say no. Or at least, “no for now.” I can’t say I’ve mastered this quite yet but admission is the first step to recovery, right?

2) Paper & digi can go hand in hand. One of the reasons I’ve always struggled with so-called time management systems is that they always seem to be mutually exclusive: either you use a digital to-do list or a paper one. But I’ve come to realize that for my paper & tech-lovin’ brain I need a combination of both. So as of right now, I’m using The Hit List & iCal for tracking long term projects and deadlines and hand written to-do lists in my sketchbook for my daily/week to-dos. It’s not a perfect system by any means (is anything really?) but I’m definitely liking it more than anything I’ve tried previously.

2. Be More Eco-Concious

Some days I dream about starting a green-related blog. And then I remind myself about saying “no for now” and snap back to reality, haha. But how we can be better stewards for the earth is definitely something that’s on my mind a lot, even more so after our outdoor-heavy trip.

We’re still using all the reusable bags I mentioned in my update post and even I have mowed the lawn with our green-friendly push mower. We chose to scrap both the rain barrel and compost ideas because a) we have to rain gutters which made it a bit difficult and b) we were never sure how long we’d be here. In the past 6 months, we’ve thought we might be moving at least 3 or 4 times.

But for now I’m focusing on what I can work on: using less paper in the house (anyone have a paper-free kitchen?), using reusable bags and just trying to find the right balance between good choices and less-good choices. And maybe one day my dream of a super eco-friendly house will become a reality.

3. Make Each Photo Count

I don’t know if I’ve actually taken less photos this past year than previous years but I know that slowing down has pushed me to think more about composition and light which is exactly what I wanted. Now if I could just get all my photos all organized, I’d bet set.

4. Turn Our Rental House into a Home

A funny thing happened this past year. I don’t know if it was because we actually did take the time to hang up some artwork or curtains or replace the dining table (with chairs ordered and arriving soon!) but our rental house has slowly started to feel like a home. A temporary home for sure but at least a little bit more like us.

It’s far from being done but it’s been fun seeing it start to come together even if it ends up doing so just in time for us to move again.

5. Document my 29th Year

Sooo…my plans for Project Life got scrapped pretty early on. But even up to my 30th birthday last month, I was still toying with the idea of putting something together-something that covered more of the highlights.

But as I wrote in this post from January, for me it comes down to busy vs meaningful and where I want to be spending my time. If at some point I feel inspired to put together this album I will, but for now I’m ok with calling this goal done, or uh, undone. There’s way too many other things I’d like to do to guilt myself over an unfinished project of the past. Been there, done that. I must be getting wise in my old(er) age.

Well that’s my official final update of my 5 personal goals from my 29th Birthday year! I wish it included an HGTV-style or Biggest Loser reveal but well, this isn’t TV, it’s life. And in life you set intentions and take little steps that add up to big ones over time which is exactly how I’d describe this past year.

So goodbye 29th birthday goals! I’m sure we’ll meet again as I keep making little steps on all of you this year too.

Can diabetes cause erectile dysfunction

I’m back!

POSTED ON June 12, 2012 IN Life Adventures

My 30th birthday Southwest road trip was a huge success! All together we drove over 3000 miles, hiked 20+ miles and visited 5 states and 6 different National Parks (plus a couple of monuments) so yes, it was quite the adventure and a wee bit crazy at times, haha, but Adam and I had such an awesome time!

I’ll be sharing more details from our trip once I work up the courage to tackle the 1000+ photos I came home with, but for now I give you a little Instagram sneak peek, including some never-before-seen-because-we-had-no-internet-photos for those of you who followed my Instagram feed while I was gone.

One of the things I love most about vacations is the chance to take a step back, relax and come home with a renewed energy and fresh perspective, something I was definitely in need of before we left. There’s just something so inspiring about hitting the road and spending time outside viewing all these amazing places. So as much as I didn’t want our trip to end, I’m excited to be back so I can get started on all the fun stuff I’ve got in mind, including a road trip mini album and the reveal of my 30th birthday year project plans which I’m WAY excited about.

But in the meantime, how have you been? Up to anything fun and exciting lately? I don’t know about you but I was pretty excited about the new MacBook Pro announcement yesterday – can’t wait to get my hot little hands on one!

Fraudulent Drugs Are A Huge Global Problem

Vacation Time!

POSTED ON May 28, 2012 IN Announcements, Life Adventures, Travels

Photo by frankpierson

Happy Memorial Day everyone! In celebration of my 30th birthday, Adam and I are hitting the road for some much needed R&R. And by hitting the road, I mean we’ve rented a tent trailer and are going to be road-tripping and camping our way around the Southwest visiting hot spots like the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon and Arches National Park. I’m so excited!

My team has some awesome Tips from Team Awesome posts lined up for you while I’m gone, but if you want to keep tabs on what I’m up to while I’m away, keep an eye on my Instagram feed as I’ll be trying to post updates whenever my iPhone service lets me.

And as just an FYI, the Nettio Designs Shoppe will remain open so you’re welcome to purchase products while I’m gone, but any shoppe related requests (link resets, etc) will be handled once I return.

I’ll see you when I get back!

Can I take Levitra if I am taking other remedies at the same time

Turning the Big 30: 20 Defining Moments From My 20s, Part 2

POSTED ON May 24, 2012 IN Life Adventures

This week I’m celebrating my 30th birthday (today actually!) and to celebrate I’m counting down 20 defining moments from my twenties. Yesterday I shared Part 1 or the “pre-scrapbooking years” as I like to call them and today I’m sharing part 2, the scrapbooking years.

11. Discovering digital scrapbooking

You knew this add to end up on the list eventually, right? Who would have ever thought this little hobby of mine would end up having such a profound impact on my life? Not only because of the opportunities that have resulted directly from it, but because being a scrapbooker has made me look at life in a different way. It’s taught me to take time to notice details, to stop and capture moments I love and more importantly, it’s given me an outlet for which to deal with all the big life stuff that’s been thrown at us. It’s hard to imagine what life would be like if I’d never picked up that first digital scrapbooking magazine way back in 2006.

12. Surprising Susan at her college graduation

This is probably the least “big” event on the list but it’s one of the most vivid in my mind. Five months into our year in Korea, my sister was graduating from college and I made plans to fly back to California to surprise her. One 14 hour flight and a very miserable sleepless night later, her reaction to seeing me there made it 150% worth it.

13. Joining the DigiShopTalk team

I remember the day DigiShopTalk opened up to general scrapbooking community. I had largely been a lurker up to that point and I made the decision to jump in with both feet and become a part of the community and I’m SO glad I did. Not only did I meet some amazing people in my time there, but it gave me a place to refine and grow my design skills. Even though I no longer hang out there, it will always have a special place as my first real digi home.

14. Buying our first house

Our next stop after our year in Korea was Colorado. Since the housing market was doing well at the time, we did what people often do and decided to buy a house in January…2007. Yeah, I’m sure you all know how this story goes, haha, as shortly after the housing market crashed. While our little house ended up being a terrible investment monetarily, it will always hold a special place in my heart and I hope the family living there now loves it as much as we did.

15. Surviving 17 months of deployments

I’m not going to lie: deployments suck. The feeling you get when you have to leave your loved one and drive away knowing you may not see them again is gut-wrenching. But as weird as it sounds, I actually feel like deployments have made me a better person and Adam and I a better couple. Not many couples get an opportunity to take a break from their day to day life and realize just how awesome they really have it. While it hasn’t always been easy, deployments have made us more appreciative of the time we have together and what each of us brings to the table.

16. Becoming a Sweet Shoppe Sugarbabe (& Designer!)

Ask any Babe if they still have their invite email and I’m sure they’ll tell you yes. I still remember the moment I got the email! The Sweet Shoppe is a place that has a special place in my heart, not only because of how it’s help me grow as a scrapbooker and designer but because of all the super sweet people I’ve met there. I have no doubt I would never have stuck with this hobby for so long if it weren’t for all the awesome people who are a part of it.

17. Buying our very first real car

It seems so silly to include this on here because well, it’s a car. But there’s something that feels super grown up about finally being able to own a car that doesn’t have a million miles on it and most likely isn’t going to crap out on you when you’re sitting at a signal (totally happened). And well, it’s just awesome and fun to drive.

18. Trips, trips & more trips

If you were to ask me my ultimate fave from the past decade, it would have to be all the traveling we’ve been able to do. Definitely one of the perks of being a child-free couple in your twenties! From the California coast to Japan to Disneyworld, NYC, Chicago, Hawaii and so much more, I’ve loved the sense of adventure and fun our travels have added to our life and I can’t wait to see where our travels take us from here.

19. Opening Nettio Designs

Owning my own business has always been something on my bucket list so the fact that I’ve made it happen is SO cool to me. It’s been single-handedly one of the most exciting, challenging, inspiring and frustrating things I’ve ever done but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I can’t wait to see what happens with it next.

20. Living a life full of adventure and awesomeness

If there’s one lesson I want to take from my twenties it’s this: life is either a glorious adventure or nothing at all. Looking back at all of the awesome adventures I’ve been able to have the past ten years makes me unbelievably grateful, appreciative and excited for what my thirties have in store. It’s been a wild ride so far and I can’t wait to see where this life journey takes me next. And of course, you know I’ll be scrapping and sharing all the details here with you.

Fraudulent Drugs Are A Huge Global Problem