An Ode to School

After taking the bar, I finally feel like this school-thing is behind me (assuming I pass, of course. Shudder.) As much as I've been looking forward to this day, I honestly have mixed feelings.

I look forward to having unstructured time. Time to create, dream, explore. To do the things I love in more than just snippets over the weekend.

But I'm afraid of it for the same reasons. Will there be too much unstructured time? Will I feel bored? Will I get the social interaction I need to feel happy?

Lots of things to wonder. Life is wide open right now, and as exciting as it is, it also keeps me up at night if I think about it for too long:)

So, in light of things changing, here's an ode to the studying life:

Self-portrait of me doing work + Starbucks + red necklace. Not an uncommon occurrence lately.


The view from my vantage point. The little things I like to pile on my table while I work.


The beginnings of a New York essay.....I can safely say I won't miss writing those!


And for a break--some self-portraits in front of the camera:) Mostly as an ode to my new red necklace. Lots of odes going on lately.

Any big changes for YOU lately?

Thank you for all your well wishes on the bar!! I will be back with a scrappy post soon!

Scrappy Sunday--Pre-bar Edition

The bar is now two days away, and I'm taking a brief break (in between Torts and New York Practice--mmm.....) to bring you a little Sunday scrapbook love.

I made this page for the newest challenge over at Who's that Girl--the other girls have made some amazing pages, so pop over at check it out!

This page highlights new favorite quote: At the worst, a house unkept cannot be so distressing as a life unlived" (by Rose Macauley). As someone who does not clean her house with any sort of inspiring accuracy, I fully appreciate quotes like this. Amen, sister.


This next one is a sweet little card I whipped up, with no particular purpose in mind. I am loving the yellow Dear Lizzy ribbon but trying to find more ways to use it--it has a lot of presence on a project, and I don't want it to be overwhelming.

How have you used this product?


I have many posts percolating in my head, but duty calls.....I will be mostly out of touch this week, since the bar is Tuesday and Wendesday, but I look forward to being back to blogging afterwards!

Have a wonderful week!

What It's All About

This page ain't nothing special design-wise. Just some basic pieces of paper, a border punch, some stitching, little bits, and a title.

I almost put the journaling on a label sticker so it wouldn't look "too big" and overwhelm the page. But then I remembered why I was making this page in the first place.

My husband lost his father less than a year before we met. Even though I never knew him directly, I've heard so much about him that I have a sense of who he was. And I want our kids one day to have the same thing, even though by the time they get older, memories might fade.

So I used this old picture of my father-in-law with his twin boys on their birthday, and made the words the focus. Words + photos = plenty on this page.

It feels good to connect to something deeper in scrapbooking.

I won't say that my scrapping is all about photos and stories, because it's not. It's about the fun of the creative process. From shopping for supplies, to putting pages together, to gluing them down.

Not as profound, but I really think that the day I stop loving scrapping would be the day I stop scrapping at all. As much as that pains me to write, because I hope to being doing this until I'm an old lady, scrapping my retirement home parties:)

But every so often, it's good to get back to basics. Although I must say, I'm lovin that new bracket punch!

How about you? What's the bottom line for why YOU scrap?

One Event, Three ways

One of the cool things about scrapbooking is how many ways you can "spin" a certain photo.

This sometimes stresses me out because I have to "choose." But lately, I have enough photos (and not enough scrappy time) to go around.

Case in Point: our Hershey Park vacation on Memorial Day.

I've already scrapbooked 3 pages with the photos I took, all with a totally different focus.


TAKE 1: The event page

This page is pretty basic and explanatory--the who, what, when, and where. (And snacks--because having kosher snacks in an amusement park is highly record-worthy.)

(Little secret? I had this page on my desk for AGES and hated it but still didn't want to put it away. So I added some paper, a title and stuck it down. It's not my favorite but I actually don't hate it now!)


TAKE 2: The funny page

This is an ode to the Reeses Cup. As I mentioned in the earlier post on this, I am pretty obsessed with this little guy. So it had to have its own page.

While this page doesn't really address the specifics of the trip, it discusses another aspect of my life. And it also gets the "feeling" of Hershey Park across, in my eyes.


TAKE 3: The sentimental page

This page is not really about Hershey Park at all, or about chocolate. It's about how I can be a kid again with S--get excited about things, pretend to eat hot dog hats, etc.--without feeling self-conscious.


Do you use the same photos in different ways like this, too?

If not, how do you choose what to use a group of photos for?

A New Look

How do you like the new look of the blog? The lovely Cheryl has been working on it! We're still tweaking in the next few days, so please excuse any confusion!


Speaking of shiny and new, this page is about my new LAWYER husband!

I combined a graduation photo of his with the June Studio Calico kit, Partly Sunny. If you can't see it, there's stitching leading form the airplanes to the phrase I know you'll fly.....

And he's already flying--he was recently sworn in to the New York Bar, and is working really hard this week.

In another "Shiny and New" topic, meet my new little lovely:

This little sketchbook, which I picked up at Starbucks for a mere $2.99. I know it's meant for 3 year olds, but I had to buy it anyway:)



I plan on sketching scrap pages on the go with this guy--if I can bear to write on it.

How bout you? Anything shiny and new in your life this week?

Scrappy Sunday

Welcome to Scrappy Sunday, Keshet Starr edition.

(Speaking of the whole name thing, I'm trying to switch over to my married name--Starr--but it's proven to be very, very difficult. But at least there aren't too many Keshets in the scrapbooking industry!)


First up, a totally random page made up out of leftovers from on my desk.

Literally, I had the Hambly overlay sitting on top of the Studio Calico woodgrain paper in a pile on my desk, and voila! I made a page.

Journaling says: Hot cappucinos in restaurants, especially with a square of chocolate inside. Mmm.


This next page combines Lily Bee, Jenni Bowlin, October Afternoon, and some mist. It's an ode to my wonderful friend, Becca.

Journaling: I don't get to see my Columbus friends often enough, but I love it when I do!

So that's all folks!

I am now about have my husband make poached pears with hot chocolate sauce and pass them off as my own.

It's very important that no one know this. So keep the secret!

How has everyone's weekend been?

The Tuesday Blues

My ipod (a hand me down ipod video from my 17 year old brother, who upgrades his electronics regularly ) has decided it no longer wishes to play music. Or turn on. Or do anything at all really.

So now I'm attempting to listen to some 'tunes on my old ipod mini, which feels unnaturally thick, like a little pink elephant from an antique shop. Hence my title.

In happier news, I got some scrapping done last week!

I made this page to honor one of my new favorite songs, Wedding Day by Rosie Thomas. Anyone listen to it?

Journaling reads: I love this song by Rosie Thomas. Takes me right back to this day. The nerves. The excitment. Walking that walk (down the aisle) I had dreamed of.


This next one uses Studio Calico's June kit, and documents a fun improptu BBQ my friends and I had in Prospect Park.
I used lots of birds on this one. It felt like a bird page, you know? And I got to use those Studio Calico birdie stamps which the wonderful Mindy sent me for free because I was desperate to have them.


And before you go, a little flower yumminess from our (very authentically distressed) porch.

What are you up to this week? Has your ipod ever broken--and more importantly, did it ever live again?

In the Midst of the Pre-Shabbos Crazies...

I know most of you reading this blog aren't familiar with Orthodox Judaism, but I'll give you a little crash course on the Jewish Sabbath here.


On the Sabbath, we don't cook, use electricity, rip paper towels, watch TV, check email, etc. We do pray, eat, sing, read books, have long conversations (because no one has anywhere they need to run to), look at photo albums, sit out in the sun, and more.


But for all of this good stuff to happen, you have to hustle on Fridays. On an average Friday I study for the bar, cook a three course meal, clean a good chunk of the apartment, call everyone in my family, blog, and set the lights/rip paper towels/tidy up. And get myself dressed, too:).


It's always a little insane, and there's the special-for-Orthodox-Jews Murphy's Law that says that if something has to go wrong, it will be a half hour before sundown on Friday. But I love it. So I decided to pop in and mention that:)

On a totally different topic, I made this page for my first challenge at the Who's That Girl blog. You can check out the other great pages and my journaling at this link!

And, continuing with the Jewish theme, I was excited to design for Crafting Jewish Style this month! My projects are up on their blog!

What are your plans this weekend for the Fourth??