{december} first

December first was all about wrapping presents for me.  First, I woke up early and went over to a friends house for a few hours to help her wrap her presents, and then I came home and wrapped some for my friends : )

Today I was thankful for lunch with Ryan at Philly Franks, and pretty felt packaging I designed for holding my family's gifts (will share a photo of that another day). And here's the only photo I took, of some of the gifts before I wrapped them up with love for my friends.....handmade pouches by Little Octopie, scented pens, and journaling cards for scrapbooking.  <3 Carrie

{favorite} holiday gifts

Since I haven't blogged in a while and it's December 1st, today I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite gifts.....stuff I've been purchasing to give and stuff that I have been just daydreaming about.....

1. Stuff Kara Made (I can totally imagine snuggeling up in this big sweater and drinking a hot cup of tea by the fire in my Mom's living room : )
2. Pink Ninja Kits (I have purchased quite a few of these to give as gifts this year.....looking forward to creating pretty paper art with my family in Washington over Christmas)
3. Doodle Smash Journal (Bought one of these for a friend, and have my eye on this Doodle one for myself ; )
4. Inspire Lovely (You can never have too much lovely craft goodies.....I bought some of these to go with the Smash Journal gift)
5. Red Velvet (Daydreaming about all the beautiful bows in their shop right now.....I think one would make Christmas extra special this year!)

And if I had a fortune to spend, I would give online classes to all my friends and family who are receiving Scrapbook kits this year!  The Inspire Lovely Class and Classes by Kara are some of my personal favorties that I own.  Have fun with your Christmas shopping!!!  <3 Carrie

{cinnamon & spice} at the movies

Last Friday I met Stephanie at the movies to go see Breaking Dawn.  She was kind enough to take some photos of the warm spice colors I was wearing.....


I had just bought the jeans and poncho, and was excited to get a chance to wear them out. Ryan calls the ensemble my *Luke Skywalker on Tatooine* outfit : )  Stephanie showed up wearing the cutest knee high socks with her heels, jeans, a tee shirt and comfy sweater.  We hung out and walked around while waiting till it was time to head into the theater.....

In the end, Steph didn't make it into the theater due to the stomach flu, but we agreed to still see it together.....so now I have another movie date with this pretty lady. Needless to say I went into the movie worried about her, and left it relieved she arrived home OK, my head swimming with happy thoughts from what I had just seen on the big screen.  (photos of me by Stephanie, photoshop actions by me)  <3 Carrie

{week in the life} tuesday

I decided to get my butt in gear with editing more of my Week In The Life photos before Thanksgiving arrives, so here's my Tuesday, October 18th : )

One of my favorite Halloween snacks is candy corn mixed with honey roasted peanuts! And I thought that today would be the perfect day to capture some of the Halloween ambiance that adds a bit of happy to my days at home. At one point I decided to relax and watch a movie. Creature From The Black Lagoon is one of my favorite black and white monster series!!!  I love all three movies!

I had just planted my mums the day before and took some photos of their cheerful color.....


Ponyo and I played in the backyard, and Gatsby stopped by for a visit. Here's Ponyo giving him some love.....


For lunch I made seasoned tater tot tacos with cheese eggs and fresh salsa.....


In the evening, I fed the puppies and worked on crafts while Ryan played video games.....

Not a whole lot happened today, but I think I took more photos this day than any other during the week. I also have some really great notes that I jotted down about my day.....like my favorite memory was talking music with Ryan, and I noticed how much the puppies love to play together when Ryan is hanging out with them on the floor, and that Ryan laughed from enjoying the time he shared playing X-box Live with his cousin who lives in Seattle.....cool stuff like that.  I am very thankful for this chance to remember such wonderful times.  <3 Carrie

coffee & crafts

Today I met up with my sweet friend named April. As a belated birthday present, I designed a mini scrapbook class for us to play with at a local coffee shop. In the photo above you can see our finished product.....a December Daily that's only 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". Each day is a two page spread with a journal card on one side to write out a favorite moment or story of the day, with the other side covered with pretty Christmas paper, the day of the month and an occasional embellishment. And guess what?!?  April also surprised me with this fun Christmas project.....What a fun day <3 Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

This week has flown by for me.....up to today when I tried to slown down and soak up every bit of wonderful rain from a storm that is passing over San Diego.  It was our first rainfall of the season, and I loved it!

For this week's prompt, I decided to re-do another Fall prompt from last year:

Autumn Hues

I've known I wanted this to be this week's prompt for a while, but didn't decide what to photograph for it until today.  As soon as I woke up to the sound of rain, I knew that the sweet raindrops daintly perched atop my mums and pumpkins would add the perfect touch for taking my colorful photos.....

Normally I would not choose such a varied combination of colors in crysanthemum or for my Autumn Hues, but for some reason this year I am really enjoying.  To me it seems very happy : )  What are your favorite Autumn Hues this year?

Love, Carrie

{guest} post

Pop on over to *all things chula* to see what I'm wearing in this fun guest post today!  <3 Carrie

{halloween} cards

Since tomorrow's Halloween, I thought it would be fun to share some Halloween cards with you today!!! I designed them for a private class I taught last week.....

We had a lovely afternoon assembling multiples of these cards totaling up to about 20, I think.  I don't have pics of it, but inside each of the cards has a little Halloween flare too!  The product came from the sweet lady who commissioned me to design and teach the class.....and it was so much fun going to her bins of Halloween goodies to find these little treasures.  Now I am jonesing to make my Christmas cards even more : )  Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!!!  <3 Carrie

murdock beach

Tonight I took some time to edit photos from a wonderful day trip with my Dad this past Spring. I was visiting my family in Washington, and our trip to Murdock Beach is one of my favorite memories!

There's no sign or even street name for the turn off to this beach, so finding it was a little tricky.....but we did it! And once parked, we walked over the cutest bridge and through a forest filled with bare trees covered in moss.  The ground was covered in leaves, moss and all sorts of greenery, and as we walked towards where the trees opened up to the ocean, the sun streamed through some of the trees casting the coolest glow.....


The weather was perfect. Overcast, then sunny, then a bit of sprinkling just before we left.   Here's the view from the forest looking across the ocean.....you can see Canada in the distance since the sun had come out for this shot.....


Once we reached the rocky beach my Dad and I walked along the water looking for fossils. This beach supposedly has more fossils than any other in this area. We ended up seeing quite a few of them withough really realizing it (hense no specific photo of them).....they looked like a rock inside a rock to us, LOL!


My bootprint in the sand.....


My my Dad took this photo of me. We had so much fun!!! I love this place!  <3 Carrie

{today}

Today has been a day for reflection. I woke up a little early. Did the first bit of Tai Chi in a while (which I have to admit, made me feel better later rather than sooner....I was a bit shaky). Practising Tai Chi helps me feel balanced.  Both physically and emotionally.....which is desperately needed right now because I miss my family so much lately it hurts.....and feeling like this throws everything off. So today I decided was going to be different. Not necessarily better, but a day for positive change.

I'm waiting for the shakiness to wear off before I start my Friday cleaning routine and in the mean time chose to make my heart smile a bit, so I'm editing photos from this past Spring that make me happy : )

These paint splatter pics are from a sunny Springtime afternoon, and the first step in the process of designing THESE invitations.  The little girl the invites were for, had picked out the paint colors and helped with the splatter out on her front lawn.....

And now here I am typing up this blog post, and daydreaming about plans, and goals for the rest of this year leading into next with my partner in crime, my Ryan.  In the past couple years my personal goals and plans have always been a let down because of my health getting in the way.  Today, my head is spinning from new hopes and dreams and things seem clear.  It feels like I've learned a lot about what I'm capable of right now, and I hope to only become stronger with who I've become.  So, for now I little therapeutic photo editing.....and in a bit I'll write out my new goals, clean the house, and make some homemade limeade from limes given to me by a dear friend.  Enjoy your weekend!  <3 Carrie