and the winner is...

Thank you to everyone who commented this week to try to win the snuggly burpie and car seat blanket set from Artsy Fartsy Baby!

You all had so many great ideas, but Sae's comment got me right away:

Ok, first of all, this is the third mention in a few weeks that someone has made to me about blogging about hair accessories, so Sae might be psychic. Second, I got so excited when I read this comment that I went pin-happy over on Pinterest searching for inspiration. Third, Sae, I clicked over to your blog and your Etsy shop is kind of like totally AWESOME. So I guess we are both winners.

In the next few weeks I'll put together a hair band extravaganza post, chock-full of crafty ways to adorn you or your child's hair.

Congrats again to Sae and thank you to Leslie for providing such fabulous prizes!

xo Becky

saturdays with instagram - the lucy edition

Lucy turned TWO yesterday and I thought I would share some of my favorite Instagrams featuring my #1 muse. Enjoy!!!

xo Becky

P.S. There's still time to enter the Artsy Fartsy Baby giveaway! 

artsy fartsy baby GIVEAWAY!!!

Listen up, friends, it's time for the first ever Clean White Paper giveaway!

I am especially proud to be offering this product as it comes from one of my first childhood friends, Leslie Herbert Lee.

Yep, that's us! You can't deny the awesomeness of those headbands. I believe this might have been the same year I bought my first cassette tape, "She's So Unusual" by Cyndi Lauper. Needless to say, we were fashionable back then and the same continues today.

Leslie's Etsy shop Artsy Fartsy Baby is chock-full beautifully modern fabrics in pallets that fit every decor and style. She handcrafts her blankets and burpies with the softest, prettiest fabrics. I'm OBSESSED with these typography fabrics so I snatched one right up for my little niece, Lila:

These car seat blankets are the best - perfectly sized and crafted without extra bulk. And they are SUPER snuggly.

In this giveaway you can win 1 car seat blanket and a set of matching burpies in a yellow, grey and white love bird pattern (perfect for boys or girls!) from Artsy Fartsy Baby.

Simply follow the challenge below...

Leave me a link or comment about a project you would like to see me attempt. I will pick the winner based on my favorite suggestion. The winner gets the fabulous blanket and burpies from Artsy Fartsy Baby as well as a follow-up shout out when I blog about my adventures executing the project.

The winner will be announced on Monday, June 18th.

I look forward to hearing all your ideas!!!

Check out Leslie's shop on Etsy and follow her page on Facebook for updates on all her fabulous new fabrics and products.

xo Becky

Please comment no later than Sunday, June 17th midnight PST

saturdays with instagram - my current faves

 

This week it looks as though nails, babies and a lil' bit of wildlife were on my mind.

What did you take photos of this week?

Have great weekend!

xo Becky

DIY instagram coasters

This weekend a project struck me like a lightning bolt and I dashed off to the hardware store. After staring down at our broken coasters I had a mission:

Decoupage coasters! So easy...

Materials used:

• Ceramic tiles (only 16 cents each, oh my!)
• Printer paper
• White glue
• Acrylic sealer
• Cork shelf paper

Tools used:

• Paper cutter
• Printer
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Glue gun
• Sponge brush

I printed my photos straight onto printer paper, thinking it would react and bond more easily than glossy photo paper. I then trimmed the images with my paper-cutter and prepared my decoupage glue. You can buy pre-made mixtures, like Modge Podge, but I used what I had on-hand and simply mixed warm water with white glue at a 1:3 ratio.

Next I used a sponge brush to lightly mount, then coat each image onto the tile. I did 2 coats total. This is what they looked like while they were drying:

After the glue dried I sealed and glossed them up with a water-based polycrylic. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I used printer paper or the wrong kind of sealer (future experiments with materials will tell), but the images started to crackle. The good thing is that I actually liked the end product:

After everything was nice and dry, I sliced and diced some cork shelving paper and glued it to the bottom of each tile. I didn't even know that cork board shelving paper existed until I approached the craftiest looking employee in Home Depot and she showed me just the thing I needed. I'm sensing this epiphany will lead to many more projects.

I L.O.V.E. this project and can't wait to make more. I'm crazy about the personal touch that has been added to my coffee table and I think future sets will make amazing gifts.

xo Becky

UPDATE: Since writing this post I've made many more sets of coasters. I've had the best results using Mod Podge decoupage glue, followed by a final gloss seal. All the photos I've used have been on printer paper, but I'd love to hear your results from using photo prints!

saturdays with instagram - my current faves

label love

I first met a label maker when I worked at a preschool. We casually made eye contact, but we both knew that something life changing was about to happen. As I reached over to touch those rubber buttons and heard the sound as the laminated tape was expelled, complete with crisp black lettering and sticky backing, oooohhh.

One of the most exciting days of my life was when the school's Director asked me to help organize the front office. I went LABEL CRAZY. To my heart's content almost 8 years later those labels and Ikea boxes are still in place. As perfect and label-ey as the day I lovingly applied them.

In an attempt to (somewhat) keep order in my apartment despite an overflow of toys, it was time to get my label on.

I found these paper tags at Staples, made by Martha, of course. If you find them tempting, you may not want to go check out the rest of her line of products as it left a wee bit of a dent in my wallet.

I had these tags up for a few weeks and posted a picture on Instagram. A friend commented that her son would rip them off in about 2 seconds. Although Lucy has been extremely respectful, I decided to put my handy dandy laminator to use and reinforce the labels.

And here's what it looked like...

I wish the pictures were a little snazzier, but my DSLR was on the fritz, so I used my phone. C'est la vie, this blog is a work in progress like so many parts of my life.

What do you like to slap labels on?  Show me your pictures on Instagram, Flickr, Facebook or Twitter! (I'm beckycat1 everywhere - yeah, I'm #1).

xo Becky

check in

So it’s been 4 months since my birthday and I set a LOT of goals to accomplish. I’m feeling a bit behind, mostly because I’m not sure that will be able to pull it all off. But if I can’t, so what? I made up the game for myself so I can make the rules, too. The first rule of Birthday Goal Club - don’t dwell on Birthday Goal Club. I have managed to knock a few of these out, so here’s a progress report:

1. Take a class with Lulu

Lucy and I took a dance class together. Besides being at 8AM on a Saturday, it was AWESOME! I plan on signing up for more but am taking a little break as I concentrate on my own courses that I am taking.

4. Take more breaks at work

This has been hard and maybe I’m cheating again by putting it on my “done” list as it is very much a work in progress. Something that has been a big help has been my engagement in work outside of “work.” The classes that I am taking make me excited to sneak a peek at Flickr or go outside to search for something to photograph.

10. Get shellac

I promptly got shellac right after I wrote this list, courtesy of my BFF. It was amazing, just like I knew it would be! It lasted for over two weeks - the picture below was taken after 14 days! The only reason I ended up taking it off was because I was itching for a new color.

13. Take Lulu to the beach

Some of our family just moved to Soquel, so we were able to spend Easter in Capitola and take Lucy to the beach for the first time. Part of me felt like an idiot for living where I do and going almost 2 years without visiting the beach with my daughter, but quickly forgave myself when we got there. She loved it, of course, and yelled “sandbox!” over and over again for days after we had left.

22. Take an art class

Although it’s technically a not photography course, Unraveling: Ways of Seeing Myself  is focused on using photographs as a tool for self discovery. This class has reinvigorated my creative spirit and connected me to my camera in a brand new way.

28. Spend more than $30 on a pair of shoes

One of my Unraveling assignments was all about feet - where you are, where you’ve been, where you’re going. In addition to inspiring thought and creativity, it also inspired me to go and buy two very nice pairs of shoes for myself!

31. Take  a picture of myself that I like.

I thought this one would be a giant challenge. Luckily a few recent assignments forced me to take some of my very first self portraits EVER and, dare I say, I like a few??

There’s still a lot of work to be done, and like I said before, I may not finish it all, and that’s ok. It’s actually better than ok because I’m accepting it without feeling bad. I work hard - at home, in my life and in my career. I TRY hard - to be a good mom, wife, friend and person. I put my heart into everything I do and all the people I do it with and that is certainly nothing to feel bad about.

xo Becky

happy mother's day

The best Mother's Day present of all time:

Thank you Lucy and Dave for an amazing 22 months!

And thank you to my own mama as well...

I'll take that baby to go

Just when you cross one milestone with your child and you start thinking there will be less stuff to lug around, think again. I've posted before about the contents of my diaper bag and I really think I could have done a post every three months since Lucy was born and there would have been an evolution, but sadly not a reduction. When the thought pops in my head to go to dinner, run to the store or spend the day at the park, immediately my mental checklist goes into effect and I start conducting a thorough inventory of what I need to pack.

Since I've already written about my diaper bag, let's talk about the lunch bag and what else needs to come along for the ride (because who really gets out of the house with just a diaper bag, honestly).

Regardless of if we are going some place that will have food, I still always pack food. There's nothing worse than getting stuck at a slow restaurant or at a time when your little darling decides that the last thing in the world they want to do is eat unfamiliar food.

Here's a few easy ideas for snack packing ideas that come in handy for me:

1. Tinydiner Placemat: This rubber placemat unrolls and suctions to the table. It also has a little lip in the front to catch food before it hits the floor. I love this thing! Many times a plate or bowl isn't an option, so this is a nice alternative to putting food on a questionable surface. It also makes me feel like I'm making less of a mess in a restaurant.

2. Applesauce: Quick, easy and healthy. My favorite is Trader Joe's Big & Chunky.

3. Crackers & Humus: Lucy is going through a "dip" phase. Usually she just licks up the ketchup, ranch, mustard, what-have-you and leaves the actually food on the plate. Pretty gross. I don't feel bad about her eating humus by the cracker-full and she REALLY likes it! Her favorite crackers are multigrain and we usually stick to the plain humus.

4. Snack Trap: Whoever invented these, good job. So easy to toss into the backseat or to whip out of my purse. Filled with treats like Annie's Cheddar Bunnies, sliced grapes or edamame, this little guy is a must-have. I've just ordered an upgrade to this one.

5. Water: Always on-hand, always crucial! I got this bottle at Whole Foods. I like that I can buy replacement straws right there instead of feeling like I need to toss the whole thing out. It's also spill-proof and BPA free, so bonus for everyone.

6. Yogurt: This is also a current obsession. Easy to toss in a bag in a hurry, healthy and simple.

7. Spare Spoon: You never know when restaurant silverware will be too big to handle (or when you might need to bust out that yogurt).

8. Cereal bars: We like these Earth's Best ones. They are nice and soft, easy to chew, and they taste great!

Pictured above, I've been using a little storage container to pack snacks and meals that I picked up at Babies "R" Us. It's OK. It only has three compartments and it on the small side. I've ordered one of these, which I'm really excited about:

It's pretty pricey, but the amount of use I know I will get out of it will make up for it. I love that it has a bunch of compartments. As many Moms know, certain food just CANNOT touch each other (according to our kids) so this solves that problem by letting you pack more of a variety of foods. And, as you can also see here, it makes for some pretty great picture-taking as well! When it arrives and I give it a thorough test run, I'll post an update and let you know how I like it.

Besides everything above, our go-to snacks include:

• Sliced fruit
• Steamed veggies
• String cheese
• Cereal
• Quesadillas
• Cherry tomatoes
• Bread and butter slices

What snacks do your kids like?

What tips do you have for a mom on the go?

xo Becky

snap happy

The past two weeks I have been emerged in Susannah Conway's ecourse, Ways of Seeing Myself. It's got me thinking all sorts of wonderful, creative thoughts and feeling so much joy. I'm realizing that our photographs say so much more about ourselves than just where we've been and who we've spent our time with. Our images share a piece of what we were feeling at a specific moment in time.

What watching the rain on a warm night from the porch feels like...

What discovering art feels like...

What being with friends feels like...

What being amazed by nature feels like...

What being amazing with what humans can do with nature feels like...

What a hug feels like...

What love feels like...

So thank you for taking random pictures of your cat, your lunch, you fingernails and the clouds. Thank you for posting and sharing a piece of who you are.

Follow me on Instagram, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter and I'll follow you back!

xo Becky

homework

Last week on The Joy the Baker Podcast Tracy and Joy posed a challenge to their listeners - share five of your current obsessions with the world. So, here you go: 1. Nails Inc. Special Effects: At first I thought it was a ploy. What's so special about it? Looks like glitter polish to me. But, oh no! It really is special. This polish illuminates really well against all colors and picks up the light in amazing ways. I have received numerous compliments especially under low lights (most frequently by waitresses). It's really worth it, I swear.

2. The Joy the Baker Podcast: This show has been on for close to one year and it makes me look forward to Thursdays. I love to settle in to a lame task at work, slip on my headphones and escape into the world of unimportant girl talk. Every episode has me laughing and wishing the show was live because I've had way too many "oh, tell me about it!" moments where I wish I could call in. These blazin' ladies also serve up a big chunk of creative inspiration that keeps me going. Listen, you won't be sorry.

3. Instagram: Instagram is a super fun social networking tool that focuses on sharing photos. I love getting glimpses into people's every day lives and sharing a bit of my own. There's something very intimate about this uncomplicated way of communicating that has me smitten.

4. Chevron stripes: It all started on my birthday when I got some storage containers from Target. And then I bought more, and more. And then I got some dish towels, and then I saw this headboard, and oh... This pattern just makes me HAPPY.

5. Up All Night: My favorite new show of the year staring Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolf. Not only do I love seeing a working mom on TV who actually works, it's hilarious. Also, I'm pretty sure if these characters were real they would all be my best friends.

This challenge was HARD! I had way more things I could have listed, but managed to wrangle myself in. Good job, me.

xo Becky

when life gives you lemons... use them to clean your kitchen

I Google. Yes I do. I Google super random things that even I can't remember why when I look back in my search history. Many times auto-fill will lead me on a strange journey through the interwebs until suddenly I discover a hidden gem. Such a thing happened the other week when a search accidentally turned up a review of different spray bottles (what?) and I stumbled upon this!

I've wanted to start making my own cleaning products again and, as a sucker for neat ideas wrapped in a cute design, fell in love with this all-inclusive DIY cleaning product kit by Full Circle.

The Come Clean Natural Cleaning Set by Full Circle comes with:

Two spray bottles, one squeezy bottle, two juicers, bottle labels, a recipe booklet and a cleaning cloth.

As an apartment renter I'm always very storage conscious. I don't want a bunch of crap around that I only use once in a while, so I could also appreciate that all the ingredients I needed were very versatile as well. In fact, the only thing I had to actually buy to get started was the castile soap.

I jumped right in and made three cleaners:

BATHROOM SPRAY

1 part vinegar

1 part water

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

This is a light cleaner that is great for daily wipe-downs of the counter or for a quick freshen up around the loo. I'll admit I still need to embrace my heavy-duty toilet and shower cleaners for now, but am looking into a safer homemade recipe that will stand up to those.

KITCHEN SPRAY

1 part vinegar

2 parts water

1 tablespoon of castile soap

Juice of 1 lemon

This cleaner gets an A+. Love it. I used it right away and it cut through the grease on my stove top and brightened my grout. I will, however be adding some essential oils for scent. Even though the vinegar smell quickly dissipates, I still like to feel pretty while I'm cleaning, so a little mint or lavender couldn't hurt, right? They also make many scented castile soaps that would do the trick as well.

ABRASIVE CLEANER

3 parts baking soda

1 part warm water

1 teaspoon of castile soap

Juice of 1 lemon

This I used in my sink and, again - wowzas for performance!

But, this is where I need to pause...

I need to be real here and tell you it wasn't all Marthy-Stewarty-perfect-and-wonderful. Everything was going great until I got to making the abrasive cleaner. I'm not sure what happened (and, no, I didn't mix the vinegar and baking soda), but the bottle exploded. Everywhere. Since the bottle comes apart near the top to accommodate the juicer, as I was shaking it up, it literally blew up in my face. My face, clothes, table, chairs, floor, walls - all covered in lemon, vinegar and baking soda. Wonderful!

Maybe I misread the recipe instructions and should have stirred it all up in a bowl first before pouring it into the container, but I thought the point was kinda that you could make it all inside the bottle.

Anyhoo, all in all...

But only because I got vinegar all over my face.

xo Becky

i heart words!

I love words, letters, fonts, typography, lists, pens, paper... LOVE it! If you do too, you have to play with Wordle. This word cloud application lets you play with fonts, apply custom colors and play with a huge array of layouts. I really had way, WAY too much fun with this. Simply cut and paste any text - then play! I pasted in the URL of Clean White Paper and here are the results:

I'm not sure why "one" comes up so often. Apparently I say "cute" a lot too!

• You could use this as a writing tool to see what words you over-use
• Run your blog URL to see where your writing focus lies
• Get out of a writing rut by mixing it up
• Make a personalized card for someone by typing in words about them
• Create an inspiration board

I also used it to create a custom poster for Lucy where I wrote about her favorite things, some of her first words and other things I love about her:

Seriously, endless possibilities. Prepare to get sucked in...

xo Becky

juiced! (and I don't mean steroids)

Over the past year a few of my friends did the BlueprintCleanse. I was intrigued because, not only are the bottles super cute, the idea that I could cram that many fruits and vegetables into my body sounded amazing. But when I saw the price, ooh... not so amazing. That's why discovering the book The 3-Day Cleanse written by the founders of BluePrintCleanse was AH-mazing.

Now, I knew that having to make all the juices from scratch would be kind of hard, but the idea of handling and preparing the mass amount of produce that I would be consuming seemed inspiring. Our entire dining room table was filled with fruits, vegetables and herbs when I got home. After coming home from the market with all the ingredients, to my delight Dave wanted to join in. I guess it looked to good to pass up to him, too!

Every day featured 5 juices and one nut milk. Some juices were a combination of fruits and vegetables, and some were just fruit. The nut milk was always the last drink of the day, consumed 2 hours before bedtime to keep you full throughout the night.

By far our favorite was the "Greens with Apple"

This was comprised of:

• A handful of spinach
• 3 stalks of kale
• 2 golden delicious apples
• 1/2 a cucumber
• A small handful of parsely
• 1 lemon

It sounds like a lot of greens, somehow the apple takes over and it's really sweet.

We also LOVED the nut milk. Even though I screwed it up and didn't blend it well enough the first night, by the end of the day we were SO ready to have it - and it was great. By the last night when I opted for the chocolate version I had it down. Here's a pretty tutorial - we've made it since the cleanse simply because it's so yummy.

Some other things that happened during the cleanse...

I stood and stared at my fridge and counter inspired by the ingredients:

I took apart our busted clock and did a craft project (post coming soon):

We shared juice with friends:

I cleaned out our junk drawer:

I truly appreciated food while preparing a simple dinner for Lucy:

happy valentine's day

xo becky

princess for a day

Not so long ago I wasn't Becky. For over ten years I was Miss Becky. Working with kids, teaching and playing and crafting, oh my! And what was Miss Becky most famous for? Her crowns.

So what a happy day it is that my friends' kids are finally old enough for me to adorn with glitter!!

As soon as I heard the party theme was "rocker girl," I was all over it. I hit up the craft store and this was my loot:

1. Black & silver star patterned scrap booking paper
2. Zots: The perfect don't-have-time-to-wait-for-glue-to-dry solution
3. Goop glue: This one was so-so. I'm still searching for the perfect glue...
4. Glitter glue pens: This is the kind I wish I had!
5. Foam mounting tape (for crown sizing - I usually use this or velcro)
6. Stud trim (how freaking cute is that?)
7. Glitter ricrac
8. Scissors: I didn't actually buy these that day, I've had them for years and just wanted to say how rad they are

...all atop a piece of purple poster board.

I actually bought more stuff than I needed because I decided to go with a pretty simple design.

I was SO excited to start cutting out letters (it's my all time favorite crafty thing to do)...

And then use the mounting tape to secure it on sight when you see the birthday princess.

Voilà!

The party was super fun. Complete with tattoos, guitars, saxophones and microphones for the kids to rock out on.

And of course Lucy rocked it out hardcore. That's my girl.

what's in your diaper bag?

When I was pregnant I scoured the internet for lists, lists, lists. I craved to find the one-all be-all checklist for what I would need. Turns out there isn't a simple answer to such a complicated question. When my sister was pregnant she turned to me with the very same question. What started out to be a quick email turned into a series of looong, detailed lists with links, explanations, recommendations, and warnings. Being a list lover a tip giver I thought it would be fun to share some bits on this blog now and then. So, without further ado...

1. Crayons: Always a must-have, this is my favorite brand because they don't break. And who can resist this awesome case?!

2. Antibacterial wipes: You're with a kid, 'nuff said. Things can get pretty gross...

3. Diapers: Derrrr, diaper bag

4. Hand sanitizer: Again with the clean! Yes, it's a must.

5. Changing pad: I use this everywhere, public changing tables, in the back of the car, on the grass at the park, downstairs when I'm lazy... Mine came with this tote I keep in the car but there are some super cute ones on Etsy.

6. Change of clothes: If you have a newborn, a baby prone to drooling (teething) or a boy  - pack more than one. I should pack more than one - we've left more than one restaurant pant-less.

7. First aid kit: I picked up this handy mini in the travel section at Target. The case is super slim and had room for several extra bandaids to be stuffed inside.

8. Snacks: Now who doesn't need a snack in their pocket? I can't recommend these enough! Healthy and uber-packable. I also haven't met  kid yet who doesn't love them.

9. Sunscreen: I keep it on me at all times. British skin, what can I say?

10. Face wipes: Loving these right now. They are straight saline so they are nice and mild, but do the trick.

11. Tissue: How cute are these?

12: Baggies: Loving the no-odor action!

13: Extra binky: If your kid uses one, believe me you don't want to be stuck without one. I keep mine in a plastic case for sanitary reasons and also because it is easier to find.

14. Diaper cream: This one is great and comes in a small, easily portable tube.

15. Coloring paper: This is what I currently have in my bag, but I recently discovered the trick of buying all Lucy's notepads at Daiso. $1.50 each!

16. Baby wipes: How many kind of wipes does one bag need? A lot, apparently. Invest in a case. It's nicer for mommy earth. Look at this one!

17. Water

Keep in mind this is a list for my 1 1/2 year old girl. The contents of my bag have varied considerably over the past 18 months.

Can you believe all 17 items fit so nicely?

And what about the BAG?

This is a very personal choice. Consider what you like in a purse and expand this on a larger scale. I like a bag I can reach down into without taking off my shoulder. I like LOTS of pockets and compartments and require external pockets that are easy to access.

Mine fit the bill for me because it had everything above, was super cute and was somewhat gender-neutral enough that I wouldn't feel bad for making my husband carry. Plus, it got it on CLEARANCE. What, what?! Now Jonathan Adler is designing the very same brand! Maybe it's time for a trade-up (wink wink).

thirty five

Thirty five things to try and do before I turn 36 (AK!):

1. Take a class with Lulu
2. Hang curtains in dining room (that have been in the closet since before Lulu was born)
3. Redecorate (or actually DECORATE) bedroom
4. Take more breaks at work
5. Eat dinner at the table more
6. Cook one new thing a month
7. Execute a chore schedule
8. Learn (again) how to sew and make some pillows
9. Learn some makeup techniques
10. Get shellac (it looks rad!)
11. Get a facial (I've never had one!)
12. Get a massage (notice a pattern?)
13. Take Lulu to the beach
14. MORE girls nights
15. MORE date nights
16. Finish garden
17. Find a blogging community to belong to
18. Organize my photos
19. Create an original piece of art to hang in my home
20. Open my Etsy store
21. Take better care of my skin
22. Take an art class
23. Start doing yoga again
24. Clean out the garage
25. Hang more artwork throughout the apartment
26. Go on a vacation!
27. Take a day off for no reason at all
28. Spend more than $30 on a pair of shoes
29. Make another photo book
30. Fit into my favorite pants
31. Take a picture of myself that I like
32. Learn to make resin jewelry
33. Host a dinner party
34. Pickle something
35. Get another tattoo (oh yeah)

Here's to another awesome year!

gimmie a break

Last week I was putting together a list of resolutions (who says they need to be ready on the first?). I got a bit carried away and it starting looking more like a some crazy mathematical graph - no joke, here's a picture:

I decided there was no sense in getting organized this way and thought that instead I would take advantage of my birthday being so close to the new year. Since my not-so-nifty tree chart already has so many ideas on it I've decided to a do a birthday resolution list.

I've followed many other people doing this online and love the idea that it keeps you accountable and provides motivation to accomplish your goals. Check out these wonderful ladies:

• Tracy
• Andrea
• Erin

I also freaking LOVE this book created by Elise Blaha Cripe. Maybe next year I can make something that beautiful, but for now I need to finish this list before my birthday (countdown 4 days).

In the meantime I got a jumpstart on one of my resolutions already! (Is it cheating to start early? Don't know. Who cares.)

Work goal: Take more breaks (Don't worry, I work super hard, so this is deserved!)

The other day Lulu took her first dance class (squee!) so I had my camera in my car. Not wanting to leave my most expensive possession in the car I brought it inside to my cubicle.

Later in the afternoon I took a break and starting taking some pics of my work space:

I even stepped outside to take pictures of my nails. Pretty nice, ?:

I think some co-workers saw me and probably think I'm a little weird. If going outside of an office to stand in some January sun snapping photos of my awesome new nail polish is weird then, yes. I am weird.

Taking 10 minutes out of my workday to do something creative really made me feel good... I think the sunshine helped, too. Let's keep this on the permanent to-do list, ok?

So I'm off to complete my birthday list and provide a blow-by-blow of my progress. Some of the items on there will be fun, educational, WEIRD but most definitely creative. I can't wait!