be happy.

So nice to officially meet you!

I am a HUGE believer in the saying... It takes a village.  Not just to raise a child... but for everything. I travel in packs, because the people I choose to surround myself with make me a better me (and I can use ALL the help I can get).

When I have a problem, I turn to my peeps. (do people still say peeps???) And when my blog posting needed some help... I decided... it takes a village!

So this week you will meet my Scrappy peeps. They are part of my village and they are going to be regular bloggers for Scrappy Boutique.  But today... you will meet ME.

• Name your favorite scrapbook companies:

I am a girly girl.  I am a mom to a girly girl.  So I love anything girly.  My favorite companies are BasicGrey, My Minds Eye, October Afternoon and Prima (if I have to only name a few!).  But one of my ALL time favorite lines was the recent line Follow Your Heart from My Minds Eye. Another favorite line is a blast from the past with Cosmo Cricket Dutch Girl!!

Describe your style:

I am a self proclaimed mess... and so is my scrapbooking.  I am all sorts of styles. (I might want to explore that one day)

What are your fave pictures to scrapbook?

I am 100% in love with my 10 year old daughter and LOVE scrapbooking pictures of her.  And I have an amazing husband who doesn't get in as many pages as Sophie... but I LOVE scrapbooking him as well. I also REALLY love scrapbooking all of my family (I made a favorite mini-album for my 16 year old niece to make sure she knew how awesome I think she is). But one of my all time absolute FAVs is to scrapbook everyday life. Those are the moments I want to remember. 

If you had to choose: paper or embellies?

Oh my gosh!!!  Who would ever be so cruel as to make me choose???  But if I had to choose... I think paper? No... embellies. No... paper. Okay paper - but please don't make me choose!

Words to live by:

I love pinning quotes on pinterest.  They just make me happy. But if I had to pick words to live by, I would have to say... There is always, always, always something to be grateful for.

Name 1 thing you miss about being a kid:

Hostess snack cakes!  (is that wrong of me????)

Name 1 thing you love about being an adult:

Telling my mom that I don't know how she did it... and when people tell me I am just like my mom, I couldn't be more proud.

What's your favorite song of the moment?

I am so bad with song titles and lyrics. I am known for belting out whatever words come to mind (Britney Spears "On My Radar", I sing "Operator").  Anyway... I just recently learned that Michael Buble sings a version of our wedding song Crazy Love. <3

 

What's your favorite thing to do on a Sunday afternoon?

I love days where I can relax, de-compress, veg out and spend time with family. I, of course, love to scrapbook on Sundays.

What's your favorite animal?

We have a Puggle. My first dog ever. And although I tell her she is bad to the bone (because she is)... I simply looooooooove her!!

• What inspires you most?

I just LOVE to be surrounded by pretty things... by crafty things... by things that make me happy. I truly think it makes a difference. When I am surrounded by things I adore (and people I adore), I can't help but be inspired.

Okay - time for RAPID FIRE... one word ONLY...

Apple juice or orange juice?

Orange Juice

Are you a morning or night person?

Morning

Which do you prefer, sweet or salty foods?

Sweet!

What was the last thing you ate? 

Panera you pick two

If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

PINK!!!!!

What was the last movie you watched?

Avengers

Fall or Spring?

Fall

Hugs or kisses?

Hugs

So that's me... nice to officially meet you!

Amy's last day. :o(

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. ~Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie

Thank you, Amy... for your years of dedication, loyalty, creativity and hard work.  You make everyone smile, laugh and feel like a friend when they walk through the doors of Scrappy Boutique.  You will truly be missed by the staff, customers, business associates and of course, by my daughter who will miss her Snack Queen most of all!!

Thank you, Amy... for EVERYTHING!!! {I will miss you so very much}

We wish you the absolute best in Tampa... enjoy the time off and the time with your husband... but come back and visit us OFTEN!!!

March, 2007

September, 2010

September, 2010

May, 2012

Create. Dream. Scrapbook.

Not a soapbox.... I promise!!

I just wanted to share this little story with you... because as I shared it with a few people today, I am finding that many of us are in the same boat. (or car... as my story goes)

We carpool with a few neighborhood kids everyday.  We often watch a movie and all is silent.  However, I really do like the chit-chat and banter of the kids and so I often opt for no movie.  And sometimes we laugh all the way to school... and sometimes... I want to rip my ears off.  Often a thin line between the two. I mean we are talking about 7:15am here.

Anyway... lately I have noticed that we were all (and I sadly put myself in this category) being SO NEGATIVE.  I don't think we (and this time I am mostly talking about the kids) realized that 95% of what was being said was negative, whiny, or just plain annoying.  And finally, I couldn't take it anymore and snapped.  And didn't have a movie in the car.  And told them to remain quiet for the rest of the ride. Seriously.

When I picked them up from school, I apologized for "losing it", but told them we had to make a change and we had a lovely conversation about why. And then I bought them an ice cream cone so I am not the crazy mom that freaks out. (works every time!!)

So today I went to the car with this....

And as I said, I include myself so I also brought this... 

 

Every time something negative was said, they got a check in the negative column and every time something positive was said they got a check in the positive comment.  No consequences for negatives, no rewards for positives... let's just see how we do.

It was hysterical!!  Sophie - who knew we were "rolling out" our new plan greeted everyone with the cheeriest "GOOD MORNING NEIGHBORS" {insert big smile here}.  Then there were mostly contrived compliments that just cracked me up - like when Kaitlyn 1st grade told Anthony 5th grade she liked his hair very much, I thought he might just lose it.  There were many "catches" as they turned a negative into a positive and we laughed almost the whole way to school.

I plan to do this at least a week... I really just want everyone to realize we need to think about what we say. Words are powerful things.

Have a POSITIVE day everyone!!

Happy New Year!!!

As I sit here counting down the hours until 2012, I have FINALLY come up with my word for the year.

Refresh.

2011 has been such a challenging year for me.  It was filled with such sadness... I often felt overwhelmed and felt like around every corner was a road block.  Two steps forward constantly felt followed by three steps backwards.

So these last few weeks, I have felt a little frozen thinking I just have to make it to 2012... i think i can... i think i can... i think i can.

Then this morning... thinking I am finally only a day away... my word for the year came to me.

Refresh.

And I feel relief.

Happy New Year.... here's to 2012!!!!

{feel free to share your word for the year... I could use the motivation!!}

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Today I am thankful for:

My husband... who is running over to Scrappy Boutique to finish the holiday lights we didn't get to finish last night... on Thanksgiving... because he really is just that sweet.

My daughter... who works SO hard every day at school to rise above dyslexia and keeps me laughing ALL the time (okay... not ALL the time...but most of the time!!)

My family... who love me unconditionally {and I love them the same} and are people I look forward to hanging out with because they are just good ole' fashioned fun to be around.

My in-laws... who may not know how much I am thankful for them.

My friends... who make my life complete. :o)

My Scrappy B girls... who are the most special mix of women... I am amazed by their talent, their dedication and their passion for this job. {and if I haven't said I thank you enough... I THANK YOU!!}

My customers... who walk through that door and share with us more than just a hobby we love... but their memories... their sorrow... their joy... their lives.

And I have to say it... I am thankful that I had the type of father that was so amazing that his memories make me cry and laugh every day. {I miss you, Dad... today and everyday}

HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!!!!!!! {See you all tomorrow!!!!}

 

Change...

So on my fancy shmancy bulletin board I have a napkin that was given to me by a friend and it says...

"She packed up her potential and all she had learned, grabbed a Cute pair of shoes and headed out to change a few things. Her heart glowed with a degree of happy assurance."

This past year for Scrappy Boutique, and for me personally, has been a lot about CHANGE.  And although CHANGE can be difficult, it is inevitable and sometimes, exactly what we need.  And today we unveil our new look.... and it is a huge CHANGE for us.  AND WE LOVE IT!!

We aren't letting go of who we are... we are embracing who we have become.  Almost 5 years ago, we re-opened the doors of a scrapbook store and became Scrappy Boutique.  And one thing we learned is that our passion drives us and that CHANGE is what we do best. We've had some bumps and bruises along the way... I think that is to be expected... but we enjoy what we do, we have such passion for this hobby and at the end of the day our laughter can be heard the loudest.

Scrappy Boutique is a happy place for so many of us... not just for our classes and product (both of which happen to ROCK), but for the creativity, the documenting of our memories and for the friendships made. We are truly enjoying the journey and LOVE OUR NEW LOOK... and really really hope you do too.

"Change is the essence of life; be willing to surrender who you are for what you could become." ~author unknown

I've been away....

Our family suffered a huge loss.  My father passed away at the end of June.  I don't yet have the words to express the sorrow that we are feeling.  I know that so many of you know this sorrow and so I know that there really are no words.... for any of us.  

The good news??  The girls at Scrappy Boutique are so FANTASTIC that you probably haven't noticed I was missing (in a GOOD way!!).  I owe them more than I could ever give them... because they gave me peace in a time that I needed it most.  Thank you... infinity!

And thank you to all of you that reached out to me and my mom and our family.  Yet another great benefit and blessing that I owe all to this wonderful hobby of scrapbooking!!!

One day, I gathered my mail at the store and brought it home.  But... I didn't open any of it for a long time... and when I did, I found this most wonderful SURPRISE from some pretty amazing women....

It's called Mail Art and it is pretty powerful stuff when you get one!! {hugs to you 3 for blessing me with it}

the stunning cover (I only have my iphone with me to take the picture so you really can't see just how stunning it is) :(

the beautiful back

a message inside... that makes me smile and cry at the same time.

And here is a picture of my mom, my daughter and my beloved dad.

When I can look at this picture without sobbing... I plan on making it a beautiful scrapbook page.  :o)

If it could go wrong... it did!

Well National Scrapbook Day has come and gone... and we had a WONDERFUL crop... but if you saw the behind the scenes, you may have thought otherwise.

Along the way... EVERYTHING went wrong.  Really - EVERYTHING!  It got to the point that we would just laugh - because really, what else could we do??

Then came the day of the crop, and finally EVERYTHING went right!!!  We had a wonderful day, with wonderful women.  And all was right again at Scrappy Boutique.

And of course - an event isn't an event without the WONDERFUL staff at Scrappy Boutique. (my favorite part of this picture is the much needed coffee in the background)

And we LOVE Renee... she helps us relax so we can keep on scrappin!!  And this year... someone special got a massage, too.

And a crop isn't a crop without raspberry cake... IN DISGUISE!!!!

Thank you to everyone that enjoyed the day with us... and thank you to everyone that laughed along the way and made this event another success.

 

Be happy.  Have balance.  shopscrappyb.com.  <3

Where oh where did March go??

Hello April???  Where oh where in the world did March go??  

Well... I guess....

* I did a scrapbook page and finished January in my One Word project.

* We finally got around to getting our paint colors approved to paint our house.

* I lost 15 pounds in a biggest loser challenge with my neighbors. (Jason lost 22 pounds and we came in 3rd place)

* I made it to my first fish fry at Sophie's school/our church.

* I went to a yoga class - Bikram style - which means ridiculously hot.

* Saw Wicked.... twice.

* Went camping with the Girl Scouts.

* Oh... and as a surprise to us all.... I got my appendix out.

Sometimes I feel like I am closer to this "balance" thing and other times... I feel like it is simply a mirage.

Be happy. Have balance.

 

Defying gravity...

We are headed to Wicked AGAIN tonight!!  Yup... loved it so much, we just had to bring my mom, my sister-in-law and my niece... and of course Sophie and I just HAD to join them.

I actually got to make a page the other night... I started at midnight... a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!

 

Be happy. Have balance.