Living the life.

I am SO enjoying my time off of school. It has been absolutely great, I get to scrapbook, read about scrapbooks, look at scrapbooks online, and basically live in my own scrappy world. And I also workout and take the dog for a walk somewhere in between all that scrappiness. Haha, I wish I could always be so free! I was flipping through channels on the TV yesterday and came across a scrapbooking segment on the Home Shopping Network. Holy moly, pure velveeta! I swear, these people were just so cheesy and over the top, it makes me wonder who would actually buy things from such goofballs. But anyways, I need to be nicer so I will just zip it :)

Today was amazing, I got to meet up with two of my bestest friends for coffee and catching up. We had such a good time reminscing and sharing our lives as of late. I forget how good it feels to be in the company of those who know you best! Val and Christina, I do love you both! We took some ridiculous photos as well because I am a demanding friend who needs photos for her scrapbooks, hahah. I love this one of us in the reflection of Val's car. I touched it up in Photoshop because I wanted to give it a cool campy, 70's vibe and I love how it turned out. The more yellow and funky it looks, the more I like it!

More "head trauma" photos, haha! When we were in junior high we used to smash our heads together in photos (lord knows why) and we lovingly refer to it as "head trauma." I guess you had to be there, hahaha. Sometimes I think back on all the strange, neurotic traditions we created over the years and all I can think is we were so ODD!!! HAHA! But I love all of my friends, every last one of them...

Mini Vacation

John and I decided to go home for a week to spend time with our families before he starts summer school and I start working full-time and we never see them again. So of course, on my way to Simi, I had to stop off in Irvine for some Scrapbook Oasis loving. Here's my latest loot. So fun! I can't wait to get in there and play around with all this goodness! I also stopped by South Coast Plaza to check out Paper Source. Holy frick, that place is FABULOUS! I can't wait til we get one in Leucadia! They had all types of fantastic-ness, including American Crafts, Jenni Bowlin, Hambly...geez louise! I was hyperventilating, but I was also watching the clock knowing that I had best hop on that 405 before traffic set in for good. Well, it still took me two and half hours to get from Irvine to Simi Valley, but it was worth it. And what a busy weekend I just had! My family came down to stay with John and me for my uncle's wedding. They're all about the free lodging, I tell ya... :) It was a good time, we had fun, I drank everyone's champagne glass at our table and then took two bottles home with me, thanks to the help from my accomplices (i.e. boyfriend, brother, brother's gf), hahaha! Good times were had, as you can see from Andy and Ashley's faces below:

Family portrait right after the ceremony. I don't know why we all chose black (well, Andy and my dad were part of the wedding, so they had no choice!). Apparently we like to offset our albino skin tones... hahaha

Ashley, me, and Mom sweating it out in the Santee sun:

Aww, we just love my aunt's and uncle's dogs so much, especially this little guy named Spud. John is the dog whisperer, they all flock to him and run away from me, haha. I think I love them too much for their liking.

Alright well I'm off to Michael's and Target, just because!

Life, it's so good to have you back

Ahh yes, school is out and I am a free bird at last, thank god! Sheesh, this was the semester that just would not end. It sort of felt like Groundhog's day where I just kept reliving the same monotony day after day...but now it's behind me and I feel so excellent! Lots of new changes in this past week. The biggest change of all would be my decision to switch my major from interior design to multimedia. All semester long as I would begrudgingly do my drafting, model-building, etc. and feel like life just plain sucked, I would ponder other routes to take in terms of a major and ultimately a career. As much as I love interior design and decorating my own personal surroundings, it just was not working for me. Not only that, but it was going to take me at LEAST another FIVE SEMESTERS to finish up NINE classes! Hello, that is just plain ridiculous. I'm already a senior in college! What a waste of time and open units. I could easily squeeze that curriculum into two semesters if only they didn't set absurd prerequisites that set you back unnecessarily. So anyways, one day John calls me at school and tells me he had been looking into other majors that we both could switch to (he was originally graphic design) and says that multimedia would get us out of college in one year (YESSSSS) and we would take awesome classes for it. I was SOLD. As of that day, I checked out of ID mentally and was ready to tackle multimedia with great fervor. So here I am, a multimedia major, doing exactly what I want to do and feeling great about the future... So, ever since I got out of school on Wednesday, I have jumped right back into the wonderful world of scrapping! SO. MUCH. FUN. First order of business was to create these "kits" so to speak, where I pick out a limited amount of supplies and work only with those items. It definitely makes my scrap time super enjoyable and less overwhelming (especially when it comes time to clean up). So I plopped everything into the bag I made (shown above) as well as into my old interior design supply holder (I knew ID was good for something!) and have been loving life ever since!

Also, I entered a challenge sponsored by Jamie Waters on NSD at 2Peas using this layout:

and won this fabulous prize! Talk about excitement over receiving mail! Yessss!

I also started a new scrapbook using this awesome ID binder I found in the trash of the ID supply room closet. From trash to treasure, just how I like it.

And in other news, I made some new decorations for our apartment using fabric stretchers. So fun and easy and a great way to use up fabric scraps and jazz up boring white walls.

Finally, I must say the Office was so great last night! Go Dwight! hahaha, love that surprise ending...

Annnnd, I recently discovered two new blogs from scrapbookers with the most awesome style! I can't get enough of Michelle and Jennifer . Oh how I love discovering new and exciting things :)

Holy Moley

I knew my luck was changing...check out all the sweet stuff I snagged from the swap meet today. SO SO psyched! Sometimes we go and there's nothing that I really want and sometimes we go and I want EVERYTHING! This one person had table after table of paper and I am obsessed with paper. Another booth was all about the scrapbook supplies which of course I just fall all over. I don't know what it is with me and other people's stuff, but we definitely go hand in hand! :) John and I were talking about how swap meets are an acquired taste - you either love it or you hate it. The people are, shall we say, interesting. There's a lot of digging around and touching dirty things and working out deals. I know for fact my own parents would HATE it but for some reason I didn't get that gene so forever more I will be fascinated with other people's hand-me-downs, hahaha.

In addition, it is National Scrapbooking Day. I can't believe there's actually a day for this hobby but I'm down! 2Peas has some cool things going on all day so in between attempting homework I will be checking it out.

Don't Worry Be Happy

Admittedly 2008 has not been a great year for myself or those around me. People have been in and out of the hospital, crucial funds have been denied, school has been so insanely stressful. Buuut...being the new optimist that I am, I say things are really looking up! Honestly it can only get better from here on out. School is out in a week and a half and it's gonna feel oh-so-good to turn my ridiculously long list of projects and papers in and be done with it! Yessss...

As for now it's all about getting my projects done. But in the spirit of positivity it is the weekend and I am healthy and I have good music on my iTunes :) AND tomorrow is National Scrapbooking Day and I hear 2Peas and ScrapInStyle have some fun things in store...

Once finals are finito I plan on playing with this nice stack of papers and labels and tickets and gift cards and getting back to my scrapping addiction. It's gonna be so great!

In other news, a few weeks ago ( has it really been that long?) John and I stopped by Scrapbook Oasis while in Irvine visiting family and it was SO. FREAKING. AWESOME. Talk about scrapbooker's paradise - as nerdy as that sounds - and I cannot wait to go back! Here's all the stuff I managed to pick out after much deliberation. I finally convinced myself to go with these things under the notion that I will indeed be back to get more :) But I have to say one of my most favorite things about that store was seeing some of my favorite scrapbookers' work in person, such as Jamie Waters and Amy Tangerine and Emily Falconbridge. Ahhh it was so exciting!

Best day of the week!

Lately I've been really into scrapping again. It definitely appears to be a cyclical thing for me. I am always in the mood to look at other people's layouts but to do my own takes some motivation. But it is FRIDAY and that is the best news of all!

The other night when I was taking all the pillows off the bed to go to sleep I found a lovely surprise under the covers: the movie "Juno"! I was so psyched. Someone knows me too well and remembered that it came out on DVD that day so he swung by Best Buy to snag a copy for his Michael Cera-loving GF. I haven't watched it yet, but maybe that will be on the agenda for tonight!

In other news, we got a Chipotle right down the street from us! Hallelujah! Not like there aren't 50 others within a 10 mile radius of us, but this one is so fabulous. I will explain. Reason A: plenty of parking. Reason B: Right by Target. I don't even need to go into Target to be happy. Just to be in the vicinity of my holy land is good enough for me. And Reason C: When we drive home after snagging some giant burritos, I always try to dig my sticky fingers into the chips because they are so yummy and easy to snack on while I drive. Buuut...it just so happens that a certain BF of mine does not believe in breaking into the chips before we are home and settled (heaven forbid). I think his reasoning is retarded and he thinks I am pathetic for being so impatient. So to be only 5 seconds away from home means a shorter waiting period for me to bust open that bag and a happy camper boyfriend who can have his burrito and chips coexist peacefully in the comfort of home. The end.

Tomorrow we are headed to the OC to pick up John's car which has been malfunctioning like mad lately. So in order for him to have my lovely self accompany him on his journey, I blackmailed him to take me to Scrapbook Oasis in Irvine. YES YES YES, I cannot wait! Plus I'm just excited to go somewhere. Getting out whenever possible = a happy Ann-Marie.

Yesterday I had the worst stomachache. I have a feeling it was PMS-related so I wasn't worried about things getting vomitocious (TMI?), but it did make for an interesting 6 hours straight for two classes back to back in the same classroom. I spent a good portion of a drafting demo essentially laying on the teacher's desk to ease my knotted tum while he showed us how to do the next project. I'm sure that looked great. Very professional. Finally we were done with the demo and I was able to hunch over in my chair (never be completely upright when cramps are involved. always go hunchback-style, it works) for over 4 hours straight. Typically when one class ends, I run over to an on-campus Starbucks to pick up a drink simply because I like to drink away my sorrow over the fact that I have ANOTHER 3 hours of school before I can bone outta that joint. But not this time. I was staying put in that chair for as long as possible and it worked like a charm.

So stinkin' hot

Eye Candy
Originally uploaded by Ribbon & Rhinestones

My goodness, it is so HOT out. Typically I love the heat. I love not having to bring a sweatshirt or jacket or both to hit the grocery store on a random Sunday. But holy moley, I am melting. But that means it's almost summer and that is a fabulous thing.

Feeling kinda blah today. Not quite sure why either, but a trip to Trader Joe's and Target has helped me feel better. Especially since I loaded up on these amazing mint chocolate candies...I'm poppin' them like there's no tomorrow. Mental note to self: STOP! hahaha. Oh and by the way, Martha Stewart's craft selection makes me positively giddy. Martha, Martha, Martha. Always taking my money. If only you would be down with having sales at Michael's, like every other brand at that fine establishment. If only.