justem: little bits of this and that

Pickles and Ice Cream Open House - {A La Crate}

Do you ever stop and read the fliers that hang in the entryway of the grocery store? I'm going to be honest - I usually don't. ;)  I'm usually up to my armpits in bags and food and crazy kids. But, a few weeks ago, my eye was drawn to an incredibly cute poster as I walked out of the store - so much so that I stopped and took a photo of it:

(art by Emily Balsley)

Pickles? Ice Cream? VINTAGE anything? Sign me up!  I immediately texted Barb, who agreed to attend with me.  We met on Friday at A La Crate, which is amazing. Basically, they rent all the fun vintage items you might need or want for a wedding or event.  The walls were filled with things I love - mason jars, soda crates, vintage glassware and linens, washtubs, furniture - you name it. It was pretty much my dream come true. I would like to just go live there if they'd let me. They also create custom chalkboard art, which is fabulous!! Had they been around 10 years ago, my wedding would have been very different!! ;) I could have taken a billion photos, but I felt a little odd running around with my phone snapping away, so here are just a few of the items they had to rent:

All of the food was incredible - tons of local specialty items. YUM.  Again, I would have just stood there and grazed all evening, but I didn't want to look like a glutton. ;)  

(Music by Anna Vogelzang)

(Sartori Cheese)

(Myrtle Mabel Fabers Pickles)

(Calliope Ice Cream)

Barb and I had a wonderful time!  Lesson learned - read those supermarket posters!! And definitely check out A La Crate if you live in the Madison area and are in need of anything vintage for your next event!

**I am not affiliated with A La Crate in any way, though I wish I was. So cool. I was also not compensated for this post, save the three pickles, six pieces of cheese, four grapes, three {mini} scoops of ice cream, and the can of San Pellegrino I consumed...all which I enjoyed immensly.**

Meeting Oliver {Pebbles}

This is my last month with the Pebbles team.  It's been a fabulous two years designing with them !!  Today I have one of my last layouts for Pebbles.  This features a mix of their lines, but most prominently uses their Birthday Wishes line, though it is a "birthday" layout in another sense! ;) These are some of my favorite photos of the first time my husband held our newest baby (who is almost a year old now - where does the time go?!).  When Oliver was born, he laid on my chest for a couple of hours before I was willing to let him go so he could meet his Daddy up close and personal! ;)  Luckily I was ready with my camera to capture this special moment between father and son!

We have a busy week full of friends and activities!  I have a lot of blog material to cover in the next couple of weeks - some fun scrapbooking news to share, as well as some great kit crafts and summer treats. As always, thanks for stopping by! :)

Summer Fun: Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Happy Friday!  My kids have been begging me for a couple of weeks to make some sidewalk chalk paint. We finally did it last week!  If you've never made it before, it's just an easy mix of corn starch + water + food coloring. I used the Wilton Gel Food Coloring, which makes it very vibrant.  This was our first time making it at our new home, and we quickly realized that the smooth blacktop driveway at our old house is a far superior canvas than our current bumpy concrete. ;) I ended up making the paint pretty water so that it would work better on the concrete.  The foam brushes that we'd used the past also didn't like the surface, but they still had fun.  As you can see, by the end, they were just dumping it, stepping in it, and making a big old {fun} mess. Luckily, it washes right off with the rain!  

Have a great day and a fun weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Facebook ramblings...

So...I saw a report on The Today Show one morning about how everyone overuses "so" at the beginning of sentences which can "undermine the speaker's credibility."  Let's face it - when was I ever credible to begin with? ;)  SO...that being said (another probably overused transition!!)...today I did something I swore I would NEVER do. NEVER EVER. I said. But I did...

I started a Facebook page for my scrapbooking stuff - though probably not for the reasons you think.  It has nothing to do with me wanting to promote myself or my scrapbooking. It has everything to do with privacy.  In spite of my general love of all things social media (I'm a total Instagram junkie...you all know it!), I am a pretty fiercely private person.  I don't want people knowing where my kids go to school or where they spend their days.  It truly scares me how much people share on social media with regards to their children.  I know lots of people who tag their home on Instagram...which means that pretty much anyone can drive to their street and find their house. That freaks me out. Now, I am not a dummy. I know that my nemisis Google will probably also let you see exactly where I live, too.  But, I'd rather make you search for it than put it right out there for the world to see. SO...I've decided to pare down my Facebook to people I know personally or at least know very well online.  

Also, while many of my friends are scrapbookers, the majority of them are actually not (shocking!! I know!!), and I don't always feel comfortable sharing all kinds of scrappy posts on Facebook.  Now all the poor non-scrappers don't have to look at a feed full of my scrapbooking-related stuff they don't care about!

If you are one of the people I delete, please don't be offended. I already went through and deleted over 120 people...and there will probably be more as time goes on.  I have to admit - it felt good. ;) If you are someone who "knows" me but we aren't Facebook friends, I'd love if you'd follow my page! 

SO that's it. This post definitely lived up to it's title. ;)  Have a great night. 

Over and out.

I'm done now.

I promise.

SO....done.

#summer14 {gossamer blue july}

Happy Monday!  We had a fantastic weekend and have a fun-filled week of swimming lessons, tumbling camp, a dance recital, and a 10 year anniversary!!  Today I have one of my July kit layouts to share! This uses the pie chart cut files - did you know that all Gossamer Blue kits come with printables and cut files?? Good stuff!

This is a week filled with announcements over at Gossamer Blue - starting with a fun grab bag sale today! Be sure to check back every day this week...I can promise you won't be disappointed! ;) 

a saturday song...

Remember last week when I was in need of a new song?  Well, I found one! ;) Last night we rented "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (Side note - it's seriously embarrassing how long it had been since I watched a movie - months!)  It was a fun movie with great music. As the credits rolled, I thought, "Gee...this is an excellent song!" It was totally an "Emily" song. ;)  I shazammed it  (that's totally a word, right?) and was pleasantly surprised to see it was José González, a musician whose music I have liked for awhile! Of course I immediately downloaded it and have listened to it about five times already this morning. Take a listen...and have a great Saturday!

Around here...

Top 5 Summer Reading Books...so far! ;)

Our local library is holding a 50 book challenge this summer! My kids and I have been reading like mad. I think we are at 37 books so far (with a lot of re-reads), so we are very easily going to make it to 50...I think we are going to try for a personal goal of 100.  When we go to the library, I let the kids pick out the books they want...which are usually not the books I would pick! ;) But, they've gotten a few really great ones so far! I will share all 100 books at the end of the summer, but for now, here are our current top 5!

Sleep Like a Tiger
The artwork in this book is breathtaking and the story is sweet. It makes the perfect bedtime book!  It was a Caldecott Honor book!

I Want My Hat Back
I know, I know...we are like the last family on earth to read this book. We own This Is Not My Hat, and I've been wanting them to read this one. It took a little convincing to get them to choose this one, but now it's one of their favorites! 

 Little Rabbit and the Meanest Mother on Earth
I love this book. I'm sure you can guess why. Miri said, "Hey! You're the Meanest Mother on Earth!" Yes...I wear my badge with pride. ;) ;)

Lion vs Rabbit
The illustrations in this book are adorable!!  While I'm not sure that I *love* the message of this book (two wrongs make a right?), it is still a cute story with a nice twist for the kids - and did I mention the illustrations? ;)

Extra Yarn
This is, without a doubt, MY favorite book we have read this summer. Simple. Understated. Perfect. ;)

 

and a bonus book...

Chloe and the Lion
This story is cute - with the author and illustrators actually playing a part in the story. I think the concept was a tad bit over the kids' heads, but they still loved it and thought it was hilarious! ;)

Summer Pops #2: Red Tropic Pops

We are seriously behind on our popsicle making this summer!!  Our second pop recipe had mixed reviews - the kids liked them - I thought they were disgusting. ;)  We cheated and used some store-bought juice as our base - "Pina Colada" - I think it was meant to add rum to...it had coconut water in it and just tasted too sweet and coconutty (so not a word) for me!!  We put our strawberries in the food processor until they were pureed and mixed them with the juice - after a quick trip through the strainer to get out the big chucks, we poured the mix into the molds and impatiently waited for them to freeze.  

I will admit that the coconut flavor tasted much better in popsicle form, but they still were not my favorite.  The kids thought they were "soooo good," but let's be honest, they pretty much think anything red and sweet is a winner! ;)  

This week are making an old favorite!  I'll share soon. :)  Have a great day!

Five and Fabulous {Gossamer Blue Pinspired}

Have you ever taken a layout "gamble"??  Where you have an idea in your head...and it might be cool and it might be a flop?  But you give it a shot and hope for the best? That would be the case with my latest Gossamer Blue Pinspired layout, which went up on the GB Blog on Friday.  The layout is VERY out of the box..."like a mile down the road from the box" is what I said on the blog. ;)  I knew it was pretty crazy, and I wasn't sure how people would react to it - but the response has been overwhelmingly positive, which, of course, puts a smile on my face!!  

For more information about my Pinterest inspriration and my process, check out the original post on the Gossamer Blue blog! Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day! :)