The best kind of books...

The other day I cleaned out the closet of my childhood bedroom. Amidst an array of once-stylish shoes, formal gowns and hair accessories I came across this stack of books.
But these aren't just any old books... they're scrapbooks!
And do you know what makes them extra special? I made them! My mom had the best tradition when I was a kid: whenever we went on a family vacation she would pack up a bunch of supplies to take with us. This way I could keep track of my "mementos" and write down my memories as they happened.

So when I came across these books the other day, I read through them... talk about a laugh riot! It is absolutely hilarious to see what I thought was important and momentous when I was a kid. Take, for instance, this trip we took in 1990:
My mom had purchased special paper for this trip: half the page was blank and the other half was lined. This allowed me to illustrate my thoughts. This page depicts our first leg of the journey: from my vantage point in the backseat I was able to see the sky, the tops of trees (those are the green squiggles), and the little brown cup holder that fit into the window of the backseat.
The next day I talked about the Crystal Lake Cave (if you check out their website, you'll see my picture was somewhat accurate) and how I learned to spell the word "Mississippi".
Later on in the trip, I devoted an entire page to the Jolly Green Giant. We had stopped at the statue that day, and despite all the other wonderful adventures we'd had it was clearly the highlight of my day.
Of course, I didn't limit myself to illustrations and commentary. In addition to menus, brochures, maps and postcards, I included other things that were especially meaningful. Here are a variety of weeds that we had come across:
But back to my illustrations (which I think are the best part of this book)! On this day I casually mention that we had visited Mount Rushmore. But the rest of the entry (and picture) describe how we had come across a cow in the middle of the road and I thought he was cute.
Later on in the book, I described feeding burros cheddar popcorn out the car window and how slobbery they were... really riveting stuff!
And while some of my memories may seem a little silly now, I'm so thankful that my mom encouraged us to make these books! For example, I had spent the day in South Dakota learning to be a Junior Ranger. During the day we had come across a lot of things, including buffalo fur, which I lovingly taped into my scrapbook...
Along with my certificate and Junior Ranger Badge... I was so proud!
But that book chronicling our trip out west was just one of many. I also had a book for a family trip we took to Crested Butte, CO. I was apparently enamored with the Courtyard Marriot, and chose to tape everything I could find into my scrapbook.
The next day I spent pages explaining what it was like to ride an airplane (it was my first time in the friendly skies).
My commentary on this trip was especially funny: I talked about how my cousins and I visited the hot tub/sauna at least once a day, the names of the horses that took us on a sleigh ride, and a description of the Caboodle I got from my aunt and uncle for Christmas! Later in the trip I included my report card from ski school (all A's, thank you very much)...
As well as the ski tags from our time in the mountains.
I loved making my scrapbooks! Even when I went to NYC as a teenager with family friends, I kept track of everything... including our tickets to a concert at Lincoln Center featuring Marilyn Horne, Samuel Ramey, and Renée Fleming!
I especially love my page on NYC transportation. On my first visit to the city we used subway tokens and bus transfers- doesn't that seem ancient?
But of all my books, I think this one is the best!
Our parents took my brother and I on a surprise trip to Disney World- we didn't even know we were going until we arrived at the airport! I took a couple pages to record the exact dialogue of how we found out about our magical destination and all the moments following in great detail.
On this page I used sketches to describe my souvenir (a Micky Mouse watch) and Tinkerbell's descent from the castle at the Magic Kingdom light show.
Of course when we went to Epcot, I took a page to describe each country we visited and what I liked about it!
And when my father was called to the stage to participate in a hula dance at the luau we attended at the Polynesian Resort, I made sure to save a portion of his grass skirt! (Not bad for 17 years in a book, right?)
I had an absolute blast going through all these books, and reading about the things that were important to me years ago. So often my memories are based on the photos that are taken, so I am grateful to my mom for helping me to create such wonderful memories!

Thank you for stopping by and joining me on a walk down memory lane- I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!

This could be trouble...

Sunday marked a really huge moment in the history of New York City. The first Michael's Craft Store opened on the island of Manhattan. To say I'm excited about it would the understatement of the month. This little gem is located about 30 blocks from my office, and I was on hand to make sure their opening day was a success.

As is the case with many stores in NYC, this Michael's was built into the basement of a new apartment complex, so after a little ride down the escalator...
I came upon a cave of wonders (I know- I'm being totally dorky, but this is SO exciting! Up until this point, the closest Michael's was way out in Queen's, and getting there would take me over an hour each way!)
Being the scrapper that I am, my first stop was the Martha Stewart craft aisle. They had so much more product than I'm used to seeing- I was a little overwhelmed, but in a REALLY good way!
Of course, the next stop on my trip was the yarn area. I love buying yarn- I always feel so enthused to start new projects when I feel all the lovely textures and see all the alluring colors!
As I wandered around, I couldn't help but take pictures. Like the ribbon wall- isn't it wonderful?
And with a baking aisle like this, I won't have to horde my melting chocolate for Bakerella-esque desserts.
Now don't worry- I didn't go nuts by buying Christmas decorations... but I might have been a little tempted... can you blame me?
And the paints... think of all the wonderful things I could do with these... if only I could learn how to paint...
The store had these mini-shopping-carts, which I filled up in NO time!
Okay- so maybe I filled it up with my giant purse... but that still counts! This is what I came away with- quite modest, wouldn't you say?
And as if shopping in a brand new craft store wasn't amazing, I got to catch up with my friend KS. She creates the most amazing cards, projects, and layouts. I was so thrilled that we got to chat and shop (but mostly chat) for a while!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my excitement- I hope you have a great Thursday!

Happy surprises

When I returned from vacation last week, I had a couple of wonderful surprises. First, this box was waiting for me...
Are you familiar with Green Tangerines? It's a scrapbooking kit club, where each month you receive a box full of scrapbooking goodies that coordinate. There are tons of these sorts of clubs, and you can choose to participate monthly, quarterly, or annually.

But you know what makes this package even better? The fact that it's FREE! Yep- I won this amazing box full of goodies... it's the first time I've won a giveaway, and I couldn't be happier!

When I saw this box waiting for me when I returned, with it's super-cute label, I couldn't WAIT to tear into it. Here's what was inside:

Two packages of thickers, another set of alpha stickers, alphabet tape, rhinestones and a rolling stamp...
Super cool custom embellishments, brads, fab ribbons/fibers, and the custom cut doodle-bug paper...
(I love the way the ribbon is prepared!)
And paper!
Isn't that fun? I can't wait to dig in a start creating with it... I'll let you know what I come up with!

But that wasn't the ONLY surprise in store... SFS bought me flowers when I got back to NYC! Isn't he the best? I think these sunflowers are so beautiful- they're so bright and happy!
(I had my camera on the wrong settings, but I think this one is kind of cool!)
I can't get enough of these beauties... they're still going strong over a week later!
This was my favorite picture of the flowers... I love the curly leaves on the backside!
With surprises like this to come home to, maybe I should go away more often! I hope you have a great Tuesday- and thank you again, SFS!

Crafty time...

If you don't know this already, I love crafting. (I am completely my mother's daughter when I say this, I know.) In grad school, I even worked at a scrapbook store... how's that for feeding an unhealthy addiction?

So a few weeks ago, I had the day off... and I spent the whole day crafting! I wanted to make a mini-album for my folks all about our recent trip to Minnesota. Here are some pages I came up with:

(PS: how cool is that collage function in Picasa?)

Unlike all those wonderful scrapbooking and paper crafting sites that I drool over, where those amazing designers include itemized lists of the products used in each layout/project... I can't remember half the things I used in this little book! However, I can offer these random facts: the craft paper in a few of the pages was from a shopping bag I got in MN, the buttons are from shirts that I bought (you know how they always include an extra button?), and the cherry stamp was hand carved by me!

That's it for me today. I would just like to thank all the people who are visiting this blog and voting for me... it's so exciting! I hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday!

Good-byes shouldn't be this much fun!

Last night, I had to say goodbye to my good friend JG! She's moving back to Boston (she's from the area), and last night was the last time we'll see each other before she moves. Just to recap, JG and I worked together at the music agency, ate lunch together almost everyday, and have more inside jokes than I could possible explain! We both left the agency around the same time, and although our new jobs and schedules made it tough, we still tried to get together every week for dinner or a movie.

Earlier this week, I realized that I wanted to make JG a little goodbye card. I had an idea, and I think it worked out! Just a reminder- here is what JG looks like (isn't she a crack up?):
So this is the card I made. I used my Cricut and the Paper Doll Dress-Up cartridge and just went to town!
I backed the little doll with a cardstock "shadow", which also made the doll into a card!
I used a cat's eye to shade her "jeans"...
And I couldn't say no to a bit of sparkle!
And since last night was the official "Goodbye JG" dinner... guess where we went? Cafe Spice, of course! (You'd think I was getting a kick back for all the times I mention that place on my blog- but it's just a good/reliable place to go!) Another friend from our agency days, SDK, met us there, and we spent a couple hours laughing, reminiscing, and having a grand old time. Of course, I took my camera and snapped some pics along the way... here's a shot of my Prosecco:
And here are SDK and JG... so cute!!
There are little votive lights on the table- and that's pretty much the only light in the place. It makes for a nice atmosphere (but tough to take artistic pictures!)...
But I tired to be artistic with JG's wineglass...
Here is SDK's meal... YUM!
And some taste-y naan...Here's what JG got...
And mine! (I was too hungry to take a "before" shot!)
Awww... and here's a shot of SDK and I outside the restaurant!
It was a scrumptious dinner and a wonderful way to say goodbye to JG! (Oh- and she liked her card, too!) Happy Wednesday!