Project Life 2013 // Intro

Last week, I mentioned that one of my goals for 2013 was to create a Project Life album. I'll be honest: I don't know much about Project Life apart from some photos I've seen, but that's kind of how I work. Who needs instructions? Not this girl.

Please note that "this girl" is the same girl who has at least five nails in the wall behind every frame hanging in her apartment, because she's not about to waste time with a level and tape measure. I'm a huge fan of the trial and error process.

Needless to say, I am not claiming to be any type of authority on Project Life. I stay away from all the official "core kit, journaling/calendar cards" vocab, and sometimes, my weekly spreads will be only one page instead of two (gasp!). Nonetheless, I like the simple, organized structure of Project Life, and I like that I get to be creative and use my design skills. And obviously, I like the fact that this little book will document our first year of marriage.

Like I mentioned, if this is something you're considering taking up, there are all sorts of kits available with pre-cut design cards. However, I opted to not use a kit and just start out with a $3.99 scrapbook from AC Moore. I already had a paper trimmer and a corner punch, as well as a Lexmark S415 printer, so I only purchased some packs of photo pocket pages (currently working with Design A).

While each two-page spread will document a week (or two) of our lives, I created a 2013 introduction on the first page:

I designed all of the yellow patterned backgrounds on each of the "2013" cards, printed them on cardstock, and trimmed them down to 3"x4". (Fun fact: they were originally the same aqua-teal color that I adore and use throughout this blog... and then they were half a dozen other colors before I finally settled on the golden yellow. Not quite ready to let the whole grey & yellow thing go, yet.)

The card in the upper right corner is actually a piece of fabric that we used in some of our wedding decor. (Double fun fact: Zach trimmed the fabric down to size and secured it to the card. Then, after assembling my sewing machine, he added in a little border with decorative stitching. It's white, so you can barely see it, but seriously... I married a saint.)

In the upper left corner, I used a 4"x6" card with one of the same background patterns I designed, added one of my current favorite photos, and placed the text in Adobe Photoshop.

In the bottom right corner, I used another patterned 4"x6" card and added some text about where we are in life right now, as well as the little grey birds I used on our wedding stationery and programs.

Lastly, in the bottom left corner, I used the back of one of the wedding thank you notes I designed (which is the same design used on the back of our invitations, RSVP cards, etc.). It was already the perfect size; I just had to cut the flap and round the corners :)

And that, my friends, is a crash course in Project Life by a girl who actually knows very little about Project Life ;)I'm excited to get into a routine of sharing the weekly spreads on here, so be on the lookout!

The Honeymooners

Warning: if you hate photos, particularly of fireworks, tourist-y attractions, food, genuinely happy people, American flags, or anything history/Marine Corps-related, it's probably best to stop reading right now. If you hate photos taken with a self-timer or, even worse, the "stick your face next to mine and I'll hold out my arm as far as I possibly can to take a picture of the two of us together" shot, it's definitely best to stop reading right now.

However, if you're cool with all of that, feel free to proceed with this photo-heavy post. But don't say I didn't warn you...

• • • • •

DID YOU KNOW: If you choose to go somewhere for your honeymoon other than a tropical Caribbean resort, you're expected to provide a dissertation regarding the reasons you're not trading in your wedding dress for a bikini? Y'all, I married a ginger, and there is nothing romantic about SPF 3000 and an over-sized floppy hat in tropical paradise. All beach destinations were out, much to Zach's relief.

We also quickly eliminated any destination that would involve feeling guilty if we didn't soak in everything the place had to offer (as in, when I go to Europe, I'll be up at the crack of dawn exploring Europe until 2AM. I think honeymoons should have a strict "no alarm clock" policy) and any destination that would involve flying (we weren't about to waste a third of our time together being stuck in airports or on planes). Lastly, I am a self-admitted hotel snob, which meant no small town bed & breakfast. Although charming in theory, I just can't do it. Everyone has flaws, and I'm seriously okay with a little bit of hotel snobbiness being mine.

After eliminating every traditional honeymoon destination known to mankind, we opted to spend our first night in the city nearest where we met and started dating (Roanoke) and spend the rest of the week where we celebrated our one year dating anniversary (Baltimore). A simple afternoon's drive away & nothing to feel guilty about if we slept in and ordered room service, yet still plenty to do if we decided to venture out into the city. Which is perfect, because we did a little bit of both.

Growing up, I knew a few things about life: (a) Camp Bethel was simply magical, (b) Camp Bethel was really close to Roanoke, and (c) Roanoke was synonymous with the giant star and the hotel that looked like a Tudor castle. By default, the giant star and the hotel that looked like a Tudor castle were also magical. It was only fitting, therefore, that we spend our first night as husband and wife in the magical Tudor castle with a view of the magical giant star (and the Taubman Art Museum, oh heyy) in the magical city that was really close to magical Camp Bethel.

It was also only fitting that the route from Roanoke to Baltimore the next morning took us directly past the exit for the country store where Zach and I had our unofficial first Skittles date in 2008. We stopped (obviously), except instead of buying two smaller, individual packs like we did four and a half years ago, we got a "share size." Presh, we know.

• • • • •

We arrived in Baltimore on New Year's Eve (look at that perfect timing) and walked down to the Inner Harbor for the New Year's Eve fireworks celebration.

our one and only "Hey, random stranger in the hotel lobby... will you take our picture?" picture

Back in 2009, Zach was stationed about 45 minutes north of Baltimore (Aberdeen), and I was able to meet up with him on the 4th of July...during which the Inner Harbor also has a fireworks celebration :) Needless to say, we were excited to experience it all over again... this time as husband and wife.

Happy New Year! :)


Other Baltimore highlights included:

• breakfast in the Executive Lounge of the Hilton with a direct view of Camden Yards (Orioles) and M&T Bank Stadium (Ravens) in the background:
  
  

• Walking around the Inner Harbor in general

remains of the World Trade Center

• Lots of yummy food, particularly Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. :)

While the majority of our time in Baltimore was completely unstructured (loved it!), we did actually plan a thing or two. One afternoon, we ventured down the street to Fort McHenry - the birthplace of the Star-Spangled Banner.

Since we were at the fort as it began closing, we got to watch the park rangers take down the flag...

...and then Zach got to fold the flag that flies over Fort McHenry.

It's casual.





As if that were not enough to make my husband the happiest patriotic man in America,
I completely surprised him with a trip to the National Museum of the Marine Corps...
which just so happened to coincide with his very last day of active duty as a United States Marine.

If Marines cried, eyes may have gotten misty when we pulled into the parking lot and Zach realized what was going on.
But Marines don't cry, obviously.

The very first exhibit goes through the entire boot camp process, starting with the bus and the yellow footprints... a bus just like the one Zach was on exactly four years to the day we were there.

It's like Chesty himself planned this trip. I immediately regret saying that, but it's staying :)

From there, the exhibits went chronologically, dating all the way back to the Revolutionary War and working their way up to the present. The Marines have accomplished quite a bit in 237 years :)

There were enough vintage recruiting posters to satisfy my art-loving heart...





...and enough weapons and machinery to satisfy Zach's 2111 heart ;)







One of the museum's major highlights? They have THE actual flag that was raised on Iwo Jima as seen in one of the most iconic and reproduced photographs in all of history.








Lego replica in the gift store

As if a trip to the National Museum of the Marine Corps wasn't an epic enough way to spend Zach's last day as an active duty Marine... we ended the evening, and a four-year enlistment, with dinner at Tun Tavern. I mean, the birthplace of the Star-Spangled Banner AND the "birthplace" of the Marine Corps all in one week?! I would probably insert a big ol' "oorah" right here if I knew Zach wouldn't roll his eyes when he read it.

And that, my friends, is the story of how I spent my honeymoon being married to an active duty United States Marine... only to return home after a week and wake up next to a civilian. It happens.


• • • • •


As far as all of those "stick your face next to mine and I'll hold out my arm as far as I possibly can to take a picture of the two of us together" shots I mentioned...





You're welcome.

In With The New

As I sat down a couple of weeks ago to begin outlining my 2013 goals in my sketchbook, I faced two minor dilemmas.

• One: what on earth am I supposed to dream of accomplishing this year when I crossed off "get engaged, graduate college, get a full-time job, get my own place, and get married" in the span of less than eight months in 2012? Let's be serious: anything less than "buy a house and have a baby" seems a little anti-climactic. Don't even think about it - those are not making the list of goals for quite sometime. I'm essentially maxed out on milestones over here.
• Two: are you aware that goal-setting has magically evolved into serious business? I'm talking twelve-step-program, one-little-word, hashtag-hashtag, multiple-online-workshops kinda serious business. Long gone are the days where it was good enough to make a simple list and then proceed to accomplish things. Oh, no. Women of the blogosphere must be more successful, more focused, more inspiring, more goal-oriented. Bigger dreams, bigger challenges, bigger risks, bigger rewards.

Pshh.


For both of these reasons alone, I have affectionately dubbed 2013 as "the year of the little things." And you know what? I'm excited about it. Like, really excited about it. I'm excited about little projects, little life accomplishments, little milestones. The little things tend to actually be the big things, you know :)





With all of that in mind, I present to you some of the things I want to accomplish in the next 12 months.
(Eh, 11 months & 11 days. Better late than never.) ;)

1. Complete my first Project Life album. I can't wait to share more about Project Life later this week, and hopefully incorporate it into weekly/biweekly posts throughout the year. I've been hooked on Project Life for the past six months or so, but waited until January 1st to actually start my album - a great way to document our first year of married life :)

2. Grow something. Considering I've never had much success with any living thing (apart from stalk of curly bamboo that lived in a vase of water in my dorm for nearly two years), I'll be pleased if there is more green than brown at the end of this endeavor. I'm not really picky with what the "something" is, although I should add "edible" to the end of this goal: grow something edible. Suggestions, anyone? Keep in mind that I'm in an apartment, so I don't actually have a yard full of soil to work with, here. What edible things can I grow in pots on a 100 square foot balcony?

3. Go camping. Such a simple little thing, but I couldn't be more stoked about finally being able to go camping with Zach. We spent every weekend in the woods surrounded by camp friends the summer we started dating (minus the tents - hammocks only), but we haven't had the chance to return to the great outdoors for days at a time since then. We got a tent and a couple of sleeping bags as wedding gifts & can't wait to use them as soon as it gets warm again!

4. Complete a monthly "color" project. I'm making up the guidelines to this as I go along, but be on the lookout for the January reveal at the end of this month. You knew I had to find some way to fill all of my free time now that I'm no longer planning a wedding ;)

5. Sew a quilt. I received a Singer Esteem II from my grandparents for Christmas in anticipation of this goal, so I'm already halfway there, right? :) My grandma taught me to sew when I was seven - first by hand, then by machine - and she helped me complete a patchwork quilt by my eighth birthday. I'm not sure how much I still remember after fifteen years, but fortunately, Grandma is only a phone call away... and there's always YouTube to fill in the gaps.

6. Celebrate ONE YEAR of having a full-time job. Woo, only 45 more years to go ;) Seriously, though, I think having a full-time job for an entire year at the age of 23 is a pretty big accomplishment, especially in today's world. More impressively, a job that I like and actually correlates with my college degree - oh, heyy. Bring it, July 1st.

7. Celebrate ONE YEAR of being married. At our wedding, we had cards on the table with questions for guests to answer, one of which was "Where should we go for our one year anniversary?" We loved reading the answers, which ranged from New York ("to see the ball drop" - definitely on my bucket list!) to Camp Bethel ("winter camp," obviously) to Fiji, Scotland, and a little bit of everything else in between. Considering we still haven't celebrated one month of being married, I think we still have some time to plan :) Nonetheless, I like that the end of 2013 brings this little milestone along with it.

8. Support Zach through his first year of college. That's right: Zach hung up his camouflage uniform for the last time and started hitting the textbooks a few days later. He's using his well-earned GI Bill to obtain a degree in Criminal Justice Technology before beginning a career in law enforcement. Fortunately, he just so happened to marry one of the world's greatest tutors. That may or may not be a slightly biased statement, but considering the fact that he's been in classes for two full weeks and has made As on all of his assignments so far, I'd say the tutor is pretty good ;)

And there you have it - the year of the little things :) Other potential little things for 2013 include permanently opening my Etsy shop, running a mile (yes, a mile - little things, remember?) and getting a kitty (MEOW). No promises, particularly on that whole running-a-mile thing :)

Happy new year, twenty days later :)