I Love my Life

Some days, lunch consists of cereal in tupperware because there aren't any bowls clean;

Eating in jammies because there's no good reason not to.

Yesterday, Zoe and I got to spend the whole day together.

We went out for a little retail therapy, glitter nail polish for us both.

Saw a flick, Gnomeo & Juliet.

I was thinking this afternoon how fleeting this time is.

I took a video of Zoe and I having a dance party the other day, because I know while ridiculous now, She won't be that little person for much longer.

and while this move has been hard and challenging, a had me pinned in between a rock and a hard place at certain times...

I Love my Life, right now.

(cereal in tupperware included.)



Much love on a snowy Sunday!

XOXO,

Holly & CO.

Pretty Baby

Who can resist a chubby-cheeked, sweet baby?

Not me!

Aly was sweet enough to let me scrap some photos of baby Nora.

I picked up some of American Crafts new line, Hello Sunshine at Porter's

 and this was a perfect occasion to use it. 

I fell in love with this brown paper, it reminds me of my grandmother's peonies.

I wanted to make the flowers pop, so I alternated stitching the centers and adding some small jewels.

I really like the way they turned out.

This one was made with Studio Calico's Feb. Kit, Candy Shoppe (which is all sold out)

minus the thickers for the title.

We got a bunch of snow last night, meaning today, we are all curled up in sweaters and eating :)

I did go get my diet coke this morning though.

Stay Warm!

XOXO,

Holly & CO.

Needing Some Sunshine

It's been cold and snowy here lately, putting my in kind of a slump. 

Zoe and I picked out some flowers to brighten up the house a bit.

I love them.

It's amazing what a small bouquet of flowers can do for a room.

This pretty little face has been giving me a hard time, more than usual.

I think that's contributing to my slump.

I'm getting easily frustrated and feeling my patience wear thin, coupled with tears and time-outs.

Sigh, this too shall pass.

Although we did have a lot of fun yesterday painted some Mickey pictures we got in a little easter kit. Zoe was really feeling the purple :)

and last but certainly not least, I'm excited to share my Polka Dot Whimsy Feb Kit Layouts!

These first two were made with the main kit, Moments & Wishes,

The colors went so well with these pictures I had been saving.

 and the last was made with the add-on, Kiss Me.

 I'm in LOVE with the colored masking tape. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it once I saw it!

and I still have so much left!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

                                

New Fave

A new favorite layout!

I really had fun making this layout, I got my hands dirty.

Misting, inking, pen details, jewels, etc...

My sister Jenni and I are always exchanging the little funny things our kids say, and she keeps telling me to write them down, so I did.

Today, my parents came up from Utah for the day. We took them to all the hot spots in our 5-mile town.

1. Porter's amazing craft store

2. Gringo's for lunch

3. The Craze for some gaming and chatting

4. The Cupcake Cafe for dessert.

Oh and don't worry, I didn't forget the pictures of the cupcakes :)

Grasshopper is my new favorite.

It's nice to live close enough to be able to see them every few weeks instead of months.

We had a nice visit and they returned home this evening.

I got my Polka Dot Whimsy Feb. Kits yesterday and I've already done two layouts.

I'll make sure to post them soon.

I seriously LOVE the valentine add-on kit. Just AWESOME!!!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

On a roll..

Seriously, I've been trying to sit down and blog for 3 days now...sigh....finally getting to it.

Nothing in particular keeping me from blogging, just getting distracted.

First, I have to brag a bit. I've started to dabble in couponing...just dabble, and I was able to save $47 this past week at the grocery store. I'm super excited! I'm hoping I can get better and better at it and be able to build up our pantry again. 

Ok, I'm gonna brag again, Ryan got a 96% on his math test last week! and with corrections he turned the 96% into a 101%. I'm so proud of my hard working hubby. 

Next, I've been scrapping....a lot. 

I didn't get any publication requests for this month so I was bumming a bit last week and didn't scrap much.

But lots of fun new pictures of Zoe helped get me back in the groove.

Seriously feeling the pink lately. 

Oh recap of our Valentine's Day, we ordered a pizza and watched a movie. Not cooking was gift enough :) With me being gone all weekend and Ryan stuck at home doing homework, all gifts/cards/etc would have been last minute anyway, so we just spent the evening together. But I did get cupcakes :)

I think I might be a tad addicted :)

Definitely looking forward to the weekend. This has been a long week.

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

We're Back!

Zoe and I came back home yesterday.

And waiting for me (besides a sparkling clean house and happy hubby) was my Studio Calico Kit! 

I've had these photos printed for a week and was so excited to make them into a page.

I used this page as an inspiration. 

Zoe was so excited about her party at school, she couldn't wait to get out the door.

It was so cute, her whole class was dressed in red and hearts, I think a class picture would be adorable.

I'm excited to give Zoe her Valentine, I can't wait to see her reaction.

Hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

Last minute decision

A couple days ago, we made a last minute decision, to come visit my parents, well, just Zoe & I.



We drove down here last night and I'm so happy we took a mini vacation just Zoe and me.



Today we got to go to lunch with my sister, Natalie, who works close by.

 Then my Mom and Zoe made Valentine's cookies and I got some sweet pictures. (pun intended)

I had to leave last night before my 2 scrapbooking kits arrived so there will be lots of scrapping when I get home. I'm totally bummed because I thought I'd at least get to open them before I had to leave but at least now I have presents when I get there :).

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!



XOXO,



Holly & Co.

Valentine's Day Tree

Since we moved during the holidays, we didn't have a Christmas tree.

 I really missed decorating for the holidays this year. 

So I few weeks ago I made these ornaments, 

and then was able to score this mini tree from DI for just a couple bucks.

And now I have myself a Valentine's Day Tree.

 I mostly used American Crafts Love collection, along with a bit of Jenni Bowlin

 and some Studio Calico stamps.

Are you doing anything fun to celebrate or decorate for Valentine's Day?

XOXO,

Holly & CO.

A Saturday about Town

Yeah....I can't lie, we went back to the Cupcake Cafe.

This time we got Phat Monkey (Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip)

and Lemon Blueberry.

I took lots of fun pictures, but this one below has to be my absolute favorite of the day.

This is the face she gave when I said, "Say Cheese!"

Zoe thought the frosting was ice cream and ate it straight up.

After the sugar rush, we went across the street to Porter's gifts and crafts.

Some girls in my complex directing me to this place as a scrapbook store.

I figured, small town, probably won't have much selection.

WOW...was I wrong. It was better than all the stores back in Sacramento. 

Amazing selection of new trendy stuff and every color of cardstock imaginable!

However, I left without buying anything, as I have 2 kits coming to me this week, which should suffice my need for scrapping stuff.

But it's nice to know there's a place to go if I need something.

After we left Porter's empty handed, we spotted a little place across the street

Turns out it's like a Chuck E. Cheese and Fat Cats combined.

and the play place is free for kids under 3!

Zoe even got to ride a pony.

At least we're still discovering new things here in our small town. 

Truthfully, I'm afraid of running out of things to do. 

I mean my suggestion today was going to the flood museum. Yeah, you read that right, the flood museum.

Grateful Ryan ruled that option out. :) I love him.

I've off to make treats for a Super Bowl Party tomorrow. 

Hoping Ryan finishes his homework tonight so we can enjoy the game, deadline free.

XOXO,

Holly & CO.

Lately...

First off, my pictures always seem a little fuzzy when I use the blogger uploader, so I'm using photobucket now, can you tell a difference? (It's probably just me being annoyed)

Here's a new edition to our evenings. Ponies spend a LOT of time with Zoe. The join her in the tub (as evident by the awesome hair they have), they go to bed with her, they even get to join us for storytime. 

Since we visit the McDonald's play place at least twice a week, he have quite the collection of ponies. 

She likes to tell you that the ponies love you, then smash them into your face as if they are kissing you. Yeah, the unicorn and I are not on speaking terms.

It was awfully cold this week, today it's actually warm at 17.

 Poor Ryan walked to school when it was -13 the other day. 

In the past week, the scrapping world has been all a buzz with the new products coming out for the seasonal tradeshow. I've been participating in some challenges and trying to use up some older stuff to make way for the new!

This has always been a favorite picture of mine. I adore those paint splatter overalls. 

I discovered an old e-mail my Dad sent me with some baby pictures. I thought it might be fun to scrap some of those. It also proves that Zoe is my daughter. We look a lot more a like as kidlets.

Hope you've got some great plans for the weekend. I'm hoping to get out of Rexburg and head out to Idaho Falls tomorrow, but we shall see. 

XOXO,

Holly & Co.

A Painful Reminder

Saturday afternoon, afte we had such a fun day at the park and a great lunch together as a family, I was overcome with a sharp pain in my lower abdomen. After trying a few things at home, the pain got worse, so I asked Ryan to take me to the emergency too

.

One perk of living in a small town it the wait at he ER is short...



Well it turns out I had an ovarian cyst on my left ovary, that ruptured. I didn't even know I had a cyst. Apparently, cysts are common and usually go away or their own or explode. Mine chose option 2.

Yeah, it hurt. It was worse than labor.

The Dr. Gave me some meds and sent me home with instructions to lay low for the next few days.



Unfortunately the affected area is crucial for many daily tasks including movement. :)

What a loud reminder not to take my health for granted. My sweet husband has been doing everything for me and even got me a get well soon card... (cards are kinda our thing)





In family news, we're starting potty training...for reals. So far we've had one success and two accidents. But I'm confident the next few days will get better. Today was a rough day over-all. Several tantrums all over the place. Hoping tomorrow is better.



I'll leave you with a quick layout I did from our snow day weekend.

XOXO,

Holly & CO.