It's A.....

Well, this was an unintentional blog break.

But, you can blame it on this little guy:

That's right, baby Starr is here and it's a BOY!

We are very excited (although I am VERY nervous about changing boy diapers. Out of my specialty here.)

Baby will be getting his name at his bris (circumcision ceremony) so I'll update with that soon! I'm also looking forward to sharing more about baby's birth story--which was fairly eventful!

Baking with Mom

A few months ago, I started having Ellie "help" me in the kitchen.

Now, as a type-A clean as I go, follow the recipe type, I really have to push myself to let her get involved and make a mess. But when I do? Seeing her messy face and shining eyes makes it all worth it:)

I whipped up this layout to remember a sweet pancake baking session on Sunday morning a few weeks ago!

These October Afternoon buttons matched the layout perfectly!

I kept the design pretty simple, using some buttons, washi tape and journaling spots to liven things up. How fun is that colorful chevron paper??

I LOVE mixing large and small letters for a title. Never fails!

Did YOU grow up cooking with your parents? Do you cook with your kids now?

My Life....In an Instagram

Life has been a whirlwind lately. I'm now just about 38 weeks, the exact gestational age--to the day--when I had Ellie. So I'm on pins and needles, waiting to meet this baby already!

To save my sanity, I'm trying to stay busy and distracted--so what better activity than sharing some peeks at our life lately, through Instagram? You can follow my feed
here.

There has been crazy crazy traffic almost every day this month. This is my least favorite part of the holiday season right here:)

I received this sweet gift from a person my organization helped at work. My work can involve a lot of interaction with stressed-out people, so getting thoughtful notes like this really makes my day!

My baby snuggling. Life is good:)

This was driving home from Philadelphia last Sunday through some CRAZY snow. Apparently, the theme of my Instagram is "driving through bad weather/traffic conditions." Good times:)

Our family menorahs all lit up on the last night of Chanuka. I feel like Chanuka SPED by this year since it was partly over the crazy busy Thanksgiving holiday. Luckily, this conflict will be avoided for the next 70,000 years or so, so I'm in the clear for a while!

Love this shot of me and my girl, after a normal day of work.

We are currently on snowstorm #2 for THE WEEK.  Let me tell you, being snowed in + 38 weeks pregnant = crazy nesting instincts. I just want to buy truckfuls of canned food and organize them.

This was too funny--I turned my back for a minute and found E climbed up to my vanity, applying some blusher:) I guess you can never start too early!

As you can see, she's very pleased with herself:)

Are YOU on Instagram? If so, linkup?  And is there snow where you live right now?

7 Things You Might Not Know About Me

A few weeks ago, my friend Holly did a post like this on her blog, and I love the idea! So here's my attempt at carrying on the tradition:)

1. I used to live in Hawaii. For a while--around 8 years! And yes, I know how to hula, and yes, I realize I'm not very tan. I was definitely one of the whitest folks walking around that island.

2. I'm a HUGE history dork. (Although, if you've read this post you may know this already!) I especially love medieval/Elizabethan/Tudor history in England. It just makes me happy:)

3. I love to bake and cook now, but I didn't even know how to boil pasta until I was a sophomore in college.  I wasn't sure if you put in the noodles first, and then the water came later? Luckily those boxes come with directions!

4. Even though I'm outwardly very outgoing and confident, I struggle with insecurity. The struggles come and go but it's probably going to be a lifetime (or at least very long) battle for me.

5. Sometimes, I dream about being a photographer or maybe a realtor. Two random professions that aren't very similar to each other, where I know there are aspects I wouldn't love, but for some reason, those have been my "backups!"

6. I have strong political opinions, but don't like discussing them--I don't like conflict.

7. I struggle with the fact that my house isn't the bastion of cuteness I know it could be. Like this insanely adorable house from the Jersey shore:

And then I think that I can always spend my maternity leave "cutefying" my house. And then I remember how much work newborns actually are:)

So there you have it--7 things about me.

Question--Did you know any of these already?  And tell me something I don't know about YOU!

My Mind's Eye Chanuka Projects

Now that my Chanuka projects are up on the My Mind's Eye blog, I figured I'd share them here with you as well! Check out the original post for more details.

First up, my favorite project--a menorah decor piece. Who knew enamel dots worked perfectly as candles?

I just paper pieced this one out of patterned paper and a bit of gold foil. Easy and fun!

Next up, we have a card with a paper pieced dreidel. Again, handdrawn, homemade, simple and charming was the name of the game here:) Loved finding creative ways to use the MME Lost and Found brads!

A gift tag for presents--LOVE layering scallops and circles into flowers for tags!

And another tag, with the cutest little banner stickers!

Finally, my layout. I kept the design simple with a washi tape and patterned paper collage on the left, and plenty of white space on the right.

This layout is especially important to me, so I'll share what I wrote on the MME blog about it:

I have a tradition of creating a layout each year on Hannukkah documenting where we are at in our life.  On Hannukkah in 2010, we were dealing with infertility and having a hard time fully celebrating the holiday. In 2011, we were expecting our first baby in just a few months and full of eager anticipation. Hannukkah of 2012 found us enjoying the day with our nine month old baby girl, who was mostly excited about the wrapping paper! Now, in Hannukkah of 2013, we are enjoying having a twenty-two month old who “gets” the holiday more and more, as well as baby #2 on the way! I love doing these yearly comparisons on Hannukah in particular.


And those are my Chanuka projects! I love how a guest posting project "forces" you to get in your scraproom and whip things up you wouldn't have taken the time to do otherwise.

Sadly, today is the last day of Chanuka so I'm glad I got the fun in while I could!

Tell me, what are YOUR favorite holiday traditions this time of year!

Guest blogging!

Hi! I'm guest blogging today over at My Mind's Eye with some Chanuka projects!

Here's a little sneak peek:

Go here to check it out!