justem: little bits of this and that

what i learned...

Good Morning!  Finally our "cold" spell is over (and by over I mean, it was still -8 this morning, but at least the windchill is no longer -40!) and M is off to school!  This means I can actually put into play our "routine" that I talked about last week!  Wish me luck!!  Today I have a layout to share made with my Gossamer Blue January kit.  If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed that I posted a selfie shot around the first of every month (sometimes I was a day early or late!!). This was a part of a challenge with my "Ventage" girls - Angie, Barb, Katrina and Stephanie.  At the end of the year I looked back at them, and it really made me think a little about myself and my looks. I have to be honest...I have never been a person who thought I looked very good. I have always hated photos of myself. I wouldn't say I had low self-esteem...it's not like I was crying in the bathroom over my ugliness, ha! It just wasn't something I really worried or cared about. I was not exactly attractive...and that was that. But, looking back at my photos from the past year...I actually thought to myself, "Well, emily...you don't look half bad!"  Even in the pictures where I haven't done my hair, and I'm not wearing any make-up, I realize that I look okay. I'm not a "young" woman anymore. I am a married mother of three. I am not as skinny as I used to be. I've got a ridiculous number of gray hairs. I don't have a clue how to look fashionable. But...it's okay.  I think I like this new me. She's not so bad. ;)  But anyway...this is supposed to be a post about the layout...

It's a pretty simple layout. It was already "busy" with all the pictures, I didn't think I needed to make it much crazier by adding a lot of paper and embellishments. :)  AND...it's 12x12 - shocking!!!  It was the only way to get all the pictures to fit! ;)  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Ventage Tuesday: 5 under $5

Today's Ventage topic is brought to you by Angie - who challenged the Ventage girls to think of five things we use {almost} every day that are under $5 each.  I have to admit...I had a kind of tough time with this one! Maybe that's because everything I like and use is expensive. Yikes. ;)  Okay - not really - I'm a pretty frugal person!  But darn is the world expensive!! So after much thought...here are five things I use on a pretty regular basis that you can get for under five bucks!

1. Pandora.  So, Pandora is free, obviously.  But it serves as my background music for the vast majority of my day.  I am not a TV person at all. In fact, I think I'd be just find without television at all...but I need music!!  Pandora is a great way for me to constantly listen to some great music throughout my day, as well as find lots of great new music and artists. 

2. Instagram/PicTap Go. I used to haul my big camera everywhere with me. Don't get me wrong...I still LOVE my camera and use it all the time, but now that I have a phone that can take decent photos and some great apps...well, it's MUCH easier to just use my phone!  I have captured some great shots this summer!

3. Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Towelettes. This is a product that I totally stole from Katrina! ;)  When she was here for our Very Ventage Weekend she had them...and now I use them every day. I have always (always!!) been horrible about washing my face at night...and this has saved me. They are so easy and convenient and I'm totally sure I must look like 10 years younger now that I use them!!

4. My Greenroom Planner.  Okay, okay. So it was $5.99, but that's close enough! ;) The past probably five years I had a big (and awesome) planner from Paper Source that cost me an arm and a leg.  This year I realized that I was wasting money (and space in my purse) so I got this cute little planner (mine looks just like the one in the link) for a fraction of the cost, and it's served me SO well this year. I really do use it every day!!

5. Laughing Lips Glaze. This is on clearance for 3.99...so that counts, right? And...I may or may not have received mine free from a certain lip gloss professional!  I LOVE this stuff. I have the coconut flavor, and it's amazing. I pretty much love any and all lip gloss...but this is my go-to one lately!    

For more great finds under $5, check out the other Ventage girlies: Angie, Barb, Katrina, and Stephanie. Have a great day!

Ventage Tuesday: Currently...

Today's Ventage Tuesday post is brought to you by Stephanie, who challenged us all to answer these questions:

I don't necessarily DO all these things...so here are some of the ones that apply to me! ;) Also, I must share that I had *just* finished typing out this post this morning when lovely Henry decided to try and plug the wrong end of my iPhone cable into my computer...which caused some kind of freak power surge...which immediately shut off my computer...which wouldn't charge or restart. Fabulous. After a trip to the Apple Store, things are the old Mac are running again...but this post is probably not nearly as good after I wrote it a second time!!

Reading: The Great Gatsby - though I'm only on the first page, ha!
Watching: Justified on Amazon Prime (wow...disturbing!)
Trying: New strawberry recipes after we went strawberry picking over the weekend!
Eating: Onion and Dill pickles from Wienke's. (So totally cliche...)
Drinking: Seriously delicious Cherry Juice from Country Ovens
Texting: My girls. :)
Pinning: Home decor photos and popsicle recipes
Tweeting: My blog posts...and that's about it! I'm a Twitter degenerate.
Scrapping: Gossamer Blue projects!
Going: Crazy...but it's kind of an ongoing trip... ;)
Loving: Spending the day with my kids, even if they are the cause of me going crazy!
Hating: How summer is flying by!
Enjoying: Swimming Lessons! Our first were last night.
Feeling: Hopeful about the future.
Listening to: Pandora - Justem Radio!
Celebrating: My anniversary - two weeks from tomorrow!
Thanking: God for a healthy pregnancy thus far.
Starting: To count down the days until school begins and Baby Bud arrives!
Finishing: This blog post - waaaaay too late!

To check out more of the Ventage Girls "currents", stop by their blogs: Angie, Barb, Katrina, and Stephanie!

Love These Girls

Good Monday morning! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and weekend! We are home from a great little trip to visit family! I have one of my Gossamer Blue layouts to share with you today.  This layout actually came together pretty quickly, and even though it's a bit crazy, I really like the final result...probably because I just really love those girls at the top! ;)  These are the "Ventage Girls" that I refer to all the time and talked about in this post. I figured I should probably make a layout including them, since they are such an important part of my life!!

I used black and white photos because otherwise there was just TOO much color in this layout! (I know, who knew I would ever say such a thing!) There is a lot of fun new Fancy Pants product here, some Simple Stories brads and stickers, and a random mix of other products from the various kits. I loved how bright and fun this whole July kit was. :)  Have a great day!

**PS: I ended up selling ALL of my flat rate boxes, so I have deleted the post. Thank you SO much to everyone!  I still have a number of Studio Calico stamps left, if you scroll down!**

Ventage Tuesday: 5 to Love and Hate

This week's Ventage Tuesday post was the brainchild of Angie, who inspired us all to make a list of things we love and things we hate.  I'm happy to say that my "love" list is actually much longer than my "hate" list, but in true "Ventage Tuesday" spirit, I am sticking with five for each!

1. Rainier Cherries - worth their weight in gold. ;)  I have been eating them like candy...
2. A clean house - this is the cleanest our house has EVER been, and I love that we have been maintaining it!
3. Low blood pressure at my last doctor's appointment - really, really trying to avoid the pregnancy-induced-hypertension this time around!!
4. Totally mild summer weather - we have been sleeping with the windows open and playing a ton outside. This is such an awesome change from last year's scorching summer!
5. Fun summer activities with my kiddos - popsicles, oobleck, art projects, trips to the library, and so much more to come!!

 

1. Four year old girl attitude - seriously - this girl is 4 going on 14.
2. Accidentally buying crunchy peanut butter - EW.
3. That it is July - how did that happen?! Only a month and half of summer left!
4. I need a new pedicure - scary feet!!
5. Uncertainty - enough said. ;)

For more love/hate lists, be sure to check out the other Ventage girls: Angie, Barb, Katrina, and Stephanie!

A Very Ventage Weekend!

I don't normally post very many personal things on my scrapbooking blog, but since I DO post my weekly "Ventage Tuesday" posts, I thought maybe my scrapper readers would like to hear about our first ever Ventage meet-up!  Memorial Day weekend was the very first time that all five of the Ventage girls were together! That's Angie, Barb, Katrina, Stephanie and me...all in the same place at the same time! It was epic. ;)  The occasion? To celebrate our very own Stephanie's birthday!  If you follow me on Instagram, you were bombarded with photos of that weekend. In fact, we even had our own hashtag...because we're cool like that. ;)  If you want to check out the rest of the photos, search Instagram for #averyventageweekend. Here are my photos (plus a few that I've stolen from my friends!)  

Breakfast at Graze in Madison with Barb + Katrina + Stephanie Hamen (yes a different Stephanie!):

We totally ate cheese curds for breakfast. When in Rome... ;)

A trip around the Dane County Farmer's Market - the best market EVER. :)

Katrina eating a WI squeaky cheese curd!

Next we headed up to Green Bay to meet Angie and Stephanie.  There were some fun times in cars... ;)

Dinner at Hinterland in Green Bay, which was incredible. I had a quatro fromaggi pizza.  It was perfection. :)

Drinks at Hagemeister Park, which is a bar right on the river. It was chilly, but we had a nice fire to keep us warm.  Some of us had drinks to keep us warm...me, not so much. ;) My brother and Ryan also came to visit since they live in GB, and I don't see them very often!

The next morning was Stephanie's birthday garden brunch...which was, in a word, lovely. Every little detail was perfect. I had such a great time!

Stephanie and A.J.

Katrina and Sammy

After the party, Barb, Katrina, and I headed back to Madison, where we met my family for dinner at the Great Dane.

It was a wonderful weekend...I had an incredible time, and I can't wait for us to all be togther again soon. We are all very different, but we all connect on different levels and over different topics. I would say we all compliment each other very well! I am so, so lucky to have these girls in my life!!

Ventage Tuesday: 5 Summer Pins

I am a day late with my Ventage Tuesday post today, which is a bit ironic since the post topic was my idea! ;) I've been totally obsessed (even more so than normal) with Pinterest lately. It seems like the the inspiration + yumminess + fantastic ideas are never ending!  Here are five pins that I would like to try this summer!

1. One Pot Wonder Tomato Basil Pasta. I am going to try this one tonight! ;) We are supposed to get some crazy storms. Let's all hope I have power so I can actually make dinner! 

2. Pallet art. Okay, this is cheating a bit...as I have been planning this project for awhile and actually finished it last night! ;) I will try to do a post about it soon!

3. Homemade Watercolor Paints.  I found some old ice trays, and my kids are way into painting...so it's perfect!

4. Strawberry Shortcake Popsicles.  We made a TON of popsicles last year. We tried one new recipe a week!  I hope to continue this tradition this summer, and I think this is the perfect recipe to get us started!

5. Fresh Flowers. This is a summer must for me. Sunflowers are incredibly cheap at Trader Joes and I love having them on my table all summer long!

Feel free to check out my Pinterest boards for about a billion more ideas...well, 5956 to be exact!

Ventage Tuesday: A reminder...

Today one of our Ventage girls is beginning a new part of her life. It is not one that she probably ever expected...life never seems to take the turns we think it will. So instead of focusing on the whys and the what-ifs and the hard parts of this big change, I instead want to look at it as the new and the unknown...filled with wonderful possibilities. And so, my friend, today is your new beginning.  The future is in your hands. And I know you will do wonderful things with it. Sending you love today and always.

(source: molly jacques illustration)

Ventage Tuesday: 5 for Stephanie!

Later this week, my fabulous friend and fellow Ventage girlie Stephanie is celebrating a birthday, so that means it's a perfect time to celebrate HER on this Ventage Tuesday!!  I've known Steph for awhile now...over five years. Maybe six. I'm bad with dates.  All I know is that as the time passes, we become better friends...which is just the way it should be! So in honor of her special day, here are five things I love about Stephanie:

(photo stolen from her instagram account...i'm sneaky like that!)

1. She is honest.  Steph will tell you the truth...and even if it's not what you want to hear, she tells you the truth in a compassionate way that doesn't make you feel like an idiot.  I know that I can tell her or ask her pretty much anything and she wll give me honest, sincere advice.  I trust her to do so quite often!

2. She is a mom extraordinaire.  Steph has two awesome little guys...and she takes her job very seriously and does a great job. She is the first to admit that motherhood isn't easy (remember that honesty part?) but she loves (almost) every minute and you can tell by the way she interacts with her family and talks about them and photographs them that they are the world to her...and they are so, so lucky to have her.

3. She works hard. Darn hard.  Steph has a full-time job as a mother, a part-time job in retail, and has a husband that often travels for work. She deals with kids with allergies and friends with issues. ;)  She is the cook, the cleaner-uper, the bather, the chauffeur, the book-reader, the snuggler, the up-in-the-middle-of-the-nighter, and much, much more. And she does it all with a couple cups of coffee and a smile on her face!

4. She is funny. I feel like this is one of Stephanie's "inner gem" qualities - that is not the first thing you notice about her, but when you do notice it...well, you don't forget it. ;)  She's got blog posts that make me laugh out loud (and some that make me cry, for that matter) and has a knack for sending some pretty great emails.  She's a funny girl, whether she realizes it or not!  I feel pretty privileged to have been on the end of some her greatest one-liners!  

5. She is kind.  I have to be truthful...I think Stephanie might be the nicest person I know.  Stephanie always looks for the good in people and would do anything to help a friend. She would drive miles for you, make dinner for you, and probably even give you the literal shirt off her back should you be in need! She is not just nice. She is good. She is kind. She is unique in that way, and it is my favorite quality about her.

Happy Birthday, friend. I cannot WAIT to celebrate with you!!

**PS: I will be back with a scrapbooking post somtime next week. This is the crazy busy time of the month when I have tons of assignments and nothing to share until the first! Sorry for those of you that really only care about the scrapbooking!**

Ventage Tuesday: 5 I Googled...

Isn't it funny that I can write "googled" and like 95 percent of the population will know what I'm talking about?!  Anyway, this week's Ventage Tuesday is brought to you by Stephanie, who encouraged us to take a look back at our internet past to find out what in the world we have been searching for!  I found this to be a bit harder than I anticipated, mostly because I have this obnoxious internet obsession, and I visit WAY too many websites everyday...thus making it a rather drawn out process to look through my history! And...I've also realized...I'm pretty boring. There is nothing very surprising or astounding on this list, but I'm a team player, so I'll play along!!  So here you have it - 5 things I've googled in the last month:

1. NPR Articles.  I listen to NPR in the car, and I tend to only hear bits and pieces of what they talk about, thanks to my chatty little co-pilots.  So, I keep a mental list of all the articles I want to read and check them out later when I have a chance.  Here was a recent one: Young Girls May Get More Teaching Time from Parents than Boys Do. An interesting read...

2. Song Lyrics. I google song lyrics a LOT.  I mean, I am the girl that watched 27 Dresses and said, "wait a minute, you mean it really ISN'T electric boobs?!"  I tend to get song lyrics wrong all the time.  So, thanks to Google I don't sound like a total fool when I'm belting out songs while speeding down the highway with my windows open.

3. Michigan.  We spent Mother's Day in Michigan, and I think I googled about 30 different things: restaurants, times things opened, the weather, directions...you name it, I googled it!  Where would be without Google??  Lost and hungry on the side of the road, I'm sure!!

4. Hippie Mom Stuff: Ring Sling, Vinegar to Kill Weeds, Refill Swiffer Bottle, Vitamix vs. Ninja, Vinegar BumGenius, Upspring Baby (don't get me started on that one!), Pressure Points, Newborn HepB, Post Pregnancy Essential Oils.  You know...all that stuff to try and maintain my hippie mom status while I'm chugging down my Dr. Pepper. ;)

5. Internet Stalker. No, I didn't actually google the words "internet stalker." ;)  But, I kind of am one, ha!  I would say the vast majority of my google searches are looking for people or their blogs.  I won't say WHO I was looking for...but just know...it might have been YOU. ;)

If you'd like to peek into the mind of the Ventage girls, be sure to check out Angie, Barb, Stephanie, and Katrina to see what THEY have googled in the past month!! :)