"I Love" Sundays v.61

Hello dearest friends!

This has been kind of an exciting (but super long week)

** Monday found me cracking open the Harry Potter coloring book that I bought some time ago while Amy took a nap on the couch and I colored my first page. I didn't want to do any of the more complicated pages just yet because I was incredibly tired, so I started with the Gryffindor crest. Slytherin is next!

** Also on Monday, while I was at work, this lovely lady below came into my store and told me "This may sound weird, but I follow you on Instagram. I knew you worked at Starbucks but I didn't put two and two together that you worked at THIS Starbucks." It made my day to have met this lovely lady. You can follow her on IG here! ((I need to take a better picture next time, but I was at work and I wasn't supposed to have my phone out but I wanted a picture with this gorgeous and sweet girl))

 ** Tuesday was an incredibly long day for me. I took a coworkers shift because she didn't have someone to watch her young son, so I worked for 11.5 hours. I was exhausted, closing two days in a row and then such a long day on the second day. Thankfully, I closed with a great group of people, and the guy that I talked about last Sunday visited me during my dinner break. It was sweet.

** Speaking of my work. Some of the regulars have started to learn my name (I've been working the front counter a lot lately) and thankfully all have patience with me when I need help figuring out what a "Black Eye" or a "Dirty Chai" is ((can you tell that I really don't drink much coffee?)) The other upside is that I have started to learn some of their names! This makes me happy!!!

** Thursday had me running into an old NCO of mine from when I was stationed here back 2011-2014. He was a super awesome guy and we almost literally ran into each other in the food court at the mini mall! I am going to meet him at his work tomorrow to help him with his VA packet because he is retiring soon. 

** I found Kara of Boho Berry sometime this week and was kind of hooked on her style of bullet journaling. I LOVE the way that she does it! She is so creative and talented and she makes her bujo more then just a simple to do list! I love her handwriting and she has inspired me with some new collections to add to my scrap-journal! 

** Friday was a super busy but successful day for me and my little McNaugle family! Amy and I decided that we were going to get our hair done (I needed a new dye job because the blonde and brown was starting to show through again and I wanted to do something different) so this is what I did! I also had her curl my hair when she was done dying and highlighting it! I love how it turned out. It didn't stay curled for very long, but I just love the color - it's red with copper highlights. The bottom looks more reddish brown, but that's ok.

** On Friday we also got the keys to our new house! Like I told you guys in this post! Make sure you check that one out!!!

.: Little Loves :.

|| Tostitio Scoops | YouTube | Sweet Tea | Dr. Pepper | my hair | being a couch potato | naps | shopping for the new house | candy ||

What are you loving from this past week?

"I Love" Sunday's v.48

Hello dear friends!

Happy Sunday!

I hope you all have had a good week!

** I got my November Plan book all set up, although it's probably the plainest notebook that I have created since I started back in July! I am spending my time finishing October Daily and getting ready for December Daily! It's a lot to juggle. I am slowly working on decorating this month's book, I'll show you when I have it done!

** On Monday, I uploading my very first Journal flip through for my first journal. I started it back in June, skipped most of July due to personal things, and picked it back up for August, and finished it out with September. I am very impressed with myself that I kept up with it, and also with how it evolved from when I started to when I finished it. Make sure you guys check that video out! Here is the blog post that accompanies this video.

** So far I have kept up with my 30 Days of Thankful project. Right now, each day I write what I am thankful for at the bottom of each plan book page. When I get done with my October Daily project, I will spend some time transferring all the pieces into my little Gratitude Journal. I'll probably include some of it in my Scrap Journal. I am just proud that I am keeping up with it, even if it isn't how I want to do it.

** On Tuesday I started working on my December Plan Book, which there will be a video on later this week. I needed to get this book done 1) so I can share it with everyone and 2) I am using this book to help me with my December Daily this year. Just like Jenny uses several books for her December planning, I am using both of these books to complete my planning and December Daily documentation. I am working on saving money up to rent a house when I get back home, so I won't be buying much, if any in the way of supplies. This being said, I put together my own December Daily kit from my own supplies.

** On Thursday, K and I were invited to Eilene's house for a belated birthday dinner! Eilene, her husband Bill, and her mother Judy were all super sweet and put together a birthday dinner (after asking me what I wanted to eat) and a super yummy homemade birthday cake. Apparently Judy used to make cakes for a living (I asked her if there was anything that she wasn't good at- we all laughed). Eilene and Judy were even sweet enough to give me a little birthday present! It has a candle, a ceramic crown to hold the candle, two spools of ribbon, and some wood veneer stars! I am really thankful for people like this family in my life.

** On Friday there was a unit BBQ at work. The officers made and brought in food and deserts for everyone to share. The kids had the day off, so it was made into a family event. The food was really yummy- and someone even made puppy chow! ((This is my recipe and first attempt to making it)). I love me some puppy chow!

** Yesterday I filmed and edited the first 7 days of my October Daily project in my scrap journal! I really enjoy the project and I enjoy the challenge of having to journal every day. I don't always have pictures with each entry, but I do my best to at least write every single day. Here is the blog post that accompanies the video. 

** Today I joined Amy and Jamie's class "The Creative Life - Documented" It's my one purchase for this month until I get back home! I look forward to seeing what these ladies have to share across the 5 lessons! If you're interested in documenting your life in a creative way, make sure you check the class out!

.: Little Loves :.

|| Puppy Chow | Cherry Coke | Tostitoes | YouTube videos | Inspiration | Pinterest | scrap journaling | Getting ready to go home | friends | homemade cake | planning | Periscope ||

What are you loving from this past week?

"I Love" Sunday's v.46

Hello Friends

Happy Sunday!

** Monday was the Dokumentationszentrum visit in Nurnburg, it was all about the Third Reicht and everything that led up to the Holocaust. That was a 3 hour adventure (like no lie, 3 hours long) where they give you a device that translates all the exhibits. After that we went to this 3 story comic store where they actually had English comics! I was so super stoked!!! I got 3 Batman comics that I needed to add to my collection, a Copic Multiliner in 0.5, a Copic Multiliner in brush size small, and a new purple Copic marker to replace the one that doesn't work. I was so super stoked about it that I really had to limit my spending that day. I needed to wait until I got paid to go back and look at more stuff.

part of a panorama that C took that he sent to me of the Nazi Parade Field

** Tuesday was a shamtastic kind of day, where I laid around and didn't do a whole lot. My main priority was to continue printing photos out for my journal, since it was one of the last things that I needed to do to complete my journal. I was also finally inducted into my local chapter of the VFW. It's only taken like 5 months, ha ha ha. There were some circumstances that got in the way.

** Wednesday brought me to the lovely YouTube channel of Serena Bee and her October Daily. It's a Halloween version of Ali Edward's December Daily. I've already written a post about my plans for October Daily now that I found her project. If you love Halloween like I do, you should check her out!!!

** Thursday was a super busy day for me. The majority of my day was spent at a craft fair trying to raise awareness and funds for the upcoming Breast Cancer 5K being held on 24 October. I did a LOT of talking (got pretty tongue tied eventually), met some awesome new crafters in my area, and bought some amazing handmade products! 

After that I finished the first volume of my scrap-journal inspired by Courtney of The Little Ink (YT) and Raven Ink (blog). I am super stoked about completing this project and there will be a flip through of this video on my YT page here soon. I just have to finish editing and posting two other videos first!

After that, it was time for a work dinner for a Hail & Farewell at a local German restaurant. I love events like this because they foster a sense of camaraderie and community between everyone in my unit, despite rank. The families come with as well, and it's a big event for us. We said welcome to about 20 new Falcons and their families and good-bye to 5 or 6 people that are leaving us here soon. It's always quite the adventure.

** Friday was spent editing photos from my adventures from this past weekend and catching up on blog posts. I started my new journal, edited some videos for my channel, and watched some TV.

** Yesterday I picked up some new Halloween decorations for my room. I can't do a whole lot of decorating, but I will do what I can. Haha. I got some new candle holders, a new mug, a new plastic cup, and some stickers for my October Daily project. 

.: Little Loves :.

|| journaling | meeting new crafters | inspired by other bloggers | everything HALLOWEEN | scented candles | YouTube | Dr. Pepper | German food | photography ||

What are you loving from this week?

Tomorrow is also my blog's first birthday! Make sure you stop back by and check out that post!!!

October Shenanigans

YAY!

It's officially my favorite time of year!!!!!

It's time for Halloween!

Yes, I know that I still have 30 days until the actual holiday, but I am the kind of person who likes to celebrate this particular holiday for the entire month! ((Kind of like Christmas)). I especially love being a crafty individual when it comes to major holidays like 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas, and New Years. I'm the kind of person that decorates my living space (thanks to my parents), I watch all the movies (Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie, Hotel Transylvania, etc.), and wear all of my Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman, Harry Potter, and other Halloween themed shirts. 

Halloween 2012 - Twisted Alice

I don't have as many decorations here as I would like, I left most of my stuff in my storage unit in Florida on accident, and it doesn't appear that Halloween is as big a holiday here in Germany. Don't get me wrong, they have a Pumpkin Fest that I am going to this coming weekend, but it still doesn't appear to be as big of a holiday. I of course have my Nightmare Before Christmas poster that always hangs in my room, I have some candle holders that Mo and I bought last year, my Nightmare Before Christmas blanket, but that's it for right now. I will piece together my decorations as the month progresses.

It started with the Creative Holiday Planner class put on by Christy Tomlinson and my planner (I will share a flip through once I get the washi tape that I ordered). Even before the class though, I knew that I was going to deck out my book this month!

the front page of my October plan book
of course it has Jack Skellington 

I'll share more pictures as I complete more crafts and get more decorations. I plan on doing some Halloween crafts, hopefully not just in my planner, but my journal too, and maybe some stuff I can send out to people.

Let the spooky adventures begin!

"I Love" Sunday's v.34

Hello dear friends and happy Sunday
I hope you all have a good weekend!

** I started my trip back to Germany yesterday and will arrive early this morning and get back into my normal routine. It was nice to find out that my boss is letting me have tomorrow off due to the jet lag. Lord knows I am going to need it after the traveling I am about to do.

** I have made some good friends from this two week trip. Several of who actually live kinda close to me. We've made plans to hang out again after this trip. We went to Moe's Southwestern Grill on Tuesday after my VA appointment with the general medical appointment, which was my only appointment this whole week. My friend Country, a guy stationed in Belgium, and I ate there while some others ate at Smokey Bones, which was in the same plaza. My order was easy, a Joey Bag of Donuts with fried rice, black beans, chicken, and regular tomatoes- this is what I used to order when I would go at Bragg. I love Moe's, definitely better then Chipotle in my opinion (less spicy food and more options for food)

** The flight from Norfolk to Atlanta was quite uneventful and I even had time to work on my Travelers notebook. After watching this video by Jenny from Pretty Planners, I have found an idea of how I want to set up my "planner" insert for July to coordinate with my journal and sketchbook. I spent most of the flight to Atlanta, and again on my miserable flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt (more on that disaster tomorrow) setting up my notebook. I absolutely LOVE what Jenny does with her inserts! She even has a shop where she sells inserts that she makes in this same style. She shared a picture in one of the planner groups that I follow about how she sets up the front of her plan book, how she details her days, and then what she does with the leftover pages.

She is such an inspiration to me and I can't wait to finish my own version of this plan book this month! She is also supposed to post a new video here soon specifically about these plan books, I'll share a post about that once I watch it! <-- please excuse the minor fan girl moment that just happened in this above paragraph. lol

This is a picture that Jenny posted to a Travelers Notebook Facebook Group. This is partly what inspired me for my planner for this coming month. The other inspiration came from the YouTube video posted above.

** Although I am supposed to be talking about this past week, I'm going to talk about this coming week for a second. I've been setting my notebook up for Kristin's Find Your Voice workshop and the #LittleSummerJOY Project by Jen Lake and Julie Gagen. I like planning and getting things all set up. Besides, it gave me more time to work in my travelers notebook. You should also read this post from Julie about using a Travelers Notebook to document #LittleSummerJOY project. 

** Been watching a lot of set-up videos and art journaling videos on Youtube having to do with my travelers notebook. I love this community and seeing all the creative people that share their stuff on Facebook. 

** Watched The Book of Life, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, and Penguins of Madagascar on the airplane last night/today. It was the highlight of the airplane ride. Like I said, post on that tomorrow.

** I downloaded some new games on my tablet for the trip. I don't know if these are in the iPad, I have a Samsung Galaxy tablet (this is the only android product I have) There is an Inside Out: Bubble Thoughts (which is like that old bubble blaster game we used to play when we were younger), Home Boov Pop (matching colored bubbles), and Big Hero Six Bot Fight (a bejeweled type game where once you make gems match then they do damage to an opponent- Mo plays a Marvel version of this game). They were a fun way to pass the time.

** I got to see a childhood friend on Friday. We met when I moved to Florida in 5th grade, she was in 4th grade, and we had the same bus stop to school. I hadn't seen her since my coming home party post deployment in 2012, but we've kept in touch through Facebook. She lived about 3 hours north of where I was staying in Virginia, and she and her family drove down to see me. I got to meet her husband and 9 month old daughter for the first time. We played in the hotel pool thanks to the weather, they were nice enough to take me to Target (although they refused to let me pay for my own Moleskine notebooks and animal crackers), we had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings (again where her husband insisted on paying for my food), and walked around Barnes and Nobels. It was a nice afternoon hanging out with an old friend and her family. I really like her husband (they've only been married for a year or two) and am happy to have met him. 

please excuse this crappy iPhone picture. It was getting dark and for some reason, my phone doesn't always like taking selfies

** So my next love from this week is the whole thing on Marriage Equality, also from Friday. I don't care about your opinion on Marriage Equality, so if you don't like it please keep your opinions to yourself. If you are for it, please let me know so we can celebrate together. I like that this happened because I think everyone could get married. I've made the joke that they should all be able to be as miserable as straight couples. That is my joke. Honestly, I think that everyone should be able to get married, no matter their sexual orientation, because I think everyone should be able to be happy and share the same rights as straight couples. It also made me happy that this picture came across my feed, I just had to save it and now share it with you guys. #lovewins

.: Little Loves :.

|| Sweet Tea | Cherry Coke | Skittles | Animal Crackers | Chex Mix Muddy Buddys | Atlanta has free wifi where as Norfolk makes you pay for wifi | comfort food | new friends | BBQ Pringles ||

What are you loving from this past week?

Interview: Mandy Elliot from Record Life

Hello friends and Happy Saturday!

If you've been around at least for a couple of weeks, then you've heard the name Mandy or Record Life at least once. She is the mastermind behind the #ThisWeek prompt that I share weekly, and she has also become a good friend to me.

One of my Goals Before 2017 was to conduct 10 interviews and Mandy graciously agreed to be the first interview for me! Mandy is incredibly inspiring to me as a blogger, new memory keeper, as well as a photographer! I am super stoked that she agreed to let me interview her for you guys. So, without further ado, here is Mandy!

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1. Please introduce yourself

Hello, I'm Mandy Elliott - I am a wife, daughter, photographer, licensed real estate assistant, and avid memory keeper.  My faith and family always come first, then my "real job" and love of being a small business owner as a pet and portrait photographer fall in second.  Somewhere in the midst of all that, my passion for documenting daily life falls into play as I enjoy Project Life scrapbooking, crafting, journaling, baking, decorating, vacationing, and so many other things.

2. How did you start blogging?

I began blogging back in 2009 when I bought my first DSLR camera. I enjoyed photo blogging and after I started my photography business later that year, I continued to share regularly.  In the latter part of 2014, I started sharing things about my memory keeping process on my photography blog and soon after I migrated those posts to Record Life, a memory keeping blog designed to share my work and encourage others in their memory keeping habits.

3. How did you get started in Scrapbooking?

Oh goodness, it goes way back!  It all began when my mom's close friend, who owned a stamping company, got her started on scrapbooking. Just so happened that this friend's daughter and I were best friends so we also used to do some of our own scrapbooking with left over papers, pictures, and such.  

4. What made you gravitate toward Project Life?

After my husband and I moved into our first house, a little over a year after getting married, I wanted a way to display the square Instagram photos I'd been taking and sharing of the new house, our old apartment, new jobs, and a new life.  I was researching binders and page protectors for square photos and found Becky Higgin's website.  I loved the concept of Project Life because it was so simple, would allow me to be creative in my own way, and would still be something I could easily keep up with.  I began using the Project Life system two years ago and have stuck with it ever since.

5. How do you decide what to include in your spreads?

Oh, that's a tough question because I feel like anything and everything goes into my spreads!  I'm a firm believer in documenting as much as I can and as often as I can.  I've got some crazy things in my scrapbooks, including mementos from trips, receipts, art, christmas cards, letters, poems, award certificates, and so many other things I can't even think of them all.  To me, anything that I feel is worth remembering in 20+ years is something I feel is worth including.As for pictures that go into my spreads - all my photos go in. When it comes to journal cards and embellishments, I like to stick to simple things.  Most of the time my spreads are pretty clean and minimalistic.  

6. How long have you been scrapbooking?

When I started scrapbooking, I was about 11 or 12 I believe. I continued to scrapbook through my teenage years and then began working full time. When life got too fast paced for me to scrapbook often, I continued to photograph and journal. After my husband and I had been married for a little over a year, I decided to MAKE time for it once again and I'm very glad that I did.

7. Tell me about #ThisWeek and the idea behind it?

#ThisWeek is a weekly photo and story prompt that I share each Sunday on my blog. It is designed to encourage others in their memory keeping process, even if they just focus on that one theme for the week.   After documenting with Project Life for two years, I desired to focus more on telling the stories of our life, not just taking photos.  I created the #ThisWeek prompt series not just to encourage others but also to challenge myself to look for the things that should be documented and record them.  Lastly, I wanted to encourage beginners and busy women/mothers to document at least ONE thing per week.   I made it easy for others to join in as they can just post a photo and story on Instagram or Facebook using #hashtagthisweek or they can create a project or blog post and link up on my blog.  My hope is that everyone will find it to be fun, creative, and encouraging.

8. What is your favorite part of scrapbooking or memory keeping?

Creating!  I'm a visually inspired person so I love looking at pictures.  I enjoy creating them in camera as a professional portrait photographer and I enjoy printing and documenting my personal photos in my Project Life.   Its always fun to look back over the years and see how much has changed or have a photo spark a certain memory.

9. I know you're also a photographer. Can you tell us about it?

Of course!  I started my business in 2009 after taking some in depth photography classes.  I initially started out creating portraits for children and families but later found my niche was pet photography.  I still offer portrait sessions for families, high school seniors, and couples, but I really enjoy photographing pets because my own pet holds a very special place in my heart.  You can view some of my latest work on my blog at http://www.mjphotographyTN.com.

10. How does being a photographer play into your memory keeping, if it does at all?

Oh it does!  Again, where I'm a visually inspired person, I like to capture things in camera. While I try to use my "big girl camera" as often as I can, I find myself grabbing my iPhone more regularly because its close it hand.  I tell myself that it doesn't matter what camera I'm using, it just matters that I'm capturing the moment.

11. Who or what inspires you?

My Instagram community.  I spent a lot of time there, getting to know other creatives and seeing their work. I have several favorites of course, but there's too many to list.  I enjoy browsing lifestyle photography and that often inspires me.  Other times, just taking the time to enjoy my happy, amazingly normal life inspires me and makes me want to record it.

12. Anything else you want to talk about?

Yes, one last thing --- I want to encourage everyone to do some form of memory keeping. Its so very important, if not for you, but for those who come after you. Memory keeping is a type of legacy you can leave behind.   I encourage you to find a system, whether it be a planner,  journal, scrapbook, or other form, and make it work for you. Adapt it so that its easy for you to keep up with, enjoyable for you to do, and then document your life.  You won't be sorry you did.  You can drop by my blog anytime or follow me on social media for ideas and tips, plus I'm always available to answer questions!  HAPPY MEMORY KEEPING!

Jenn, thank you so much for allowing me to share on your blog.  I appreciate your new friendship and wish you all the best! 

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Thank you Mandy for taking the time to answer my questions. And for just being an all around sweetheart! Make sure you guys check Mandy out on all of her social media!

You can find her at

Blog: Record Life

Instagram: Mandy Elliot | Record Life Blog

Facebook: Record Life

Pinterest: MJ Photography | Record Life

Google+: Mandy | Record Life

My interviews will be bi-weekly, so make sure you check back in two weeks for the next interview I am hosting with a geeky friend of mine Jasmine!

If you would like to participate in an interview with me, please send me an email or get in touch with me through my Get In Touch Page!