A Christmas List That Brought Tears to My Eyes

Hello Friend!

     I was compelled to share this moment of my day because it triggered in me a very unexpected reaction.  It is that time of the year when we are all focused on buying gifts for our loved ones and for those who have had a significant impact on our lives.  I am still struggling with what we can and cannot afford to buy, and the fact that I feel like we need to scale back during this time of the year tends to only frustrate me.  I just had a moment about five minutes ago where I literally cried when I opened up an email which described the wants and needs of a family we were being asked to sponsor this holiday season.  The first thing I read was the 16 year old boy's wants and needs.  My eyes went directly to the wants because I noticed that there was nothing there.  Nothing.  That empty space just spoke to me so strongly.  For one reason or another, this 16 year old's family needs help this time of the year, and of all the things someone his age could want, there is nothing that he is asking for beyond what he needs.  I tried to figure out why I was reacting so strongly to this moment, and at least part of the answer hit me.  With the loved ones I have the honor of shopping for this holiday season, I have only been focusing on what they would want.  Not what they need.  In years past I have always taken time to pick gifts that were meaningful and symbolic of our relationship.  Whether that was a quirky magnet, a coffee mug for a recovering coffee addict, etc., my gifts always seemed to bring about a lot of smiles and laughs.  As my "List" grew longer each year, my knack for picking that memorable gift fell by the wayside.  Alas, it was like my inner self, my guides, and my angels nudged me and said "Focus on what your loved ones need, and everything will fall in to place.".  What an epiphany this moment has been for me.  Well, needless to say, this special family is going to stay in my prayers, and they will be added to my "List" of those special people who have had a significant impact on my life this year.  

Have a wonderful Thursday.

Until Next Write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

Stocking Stuffers for Thirty Kids!

 Hello Friend!

     I know what you might be thinking.  What?  Thirty kids?  Well, when you are a part of a very family and culture oriented Hula School (Halau), the bigger the number, the larger the blessings.  Our Kumu (Hula instructor) loves kids, and we love the community that we all have under his guidance, so there you have it.  Anyway, I thought I would share what I found at the Target One Spot for our family's contribution to the Stockings this year.  After taxes, I spent a total of about $16.  The items I got were:

• Eight 4 packs of "stunnah shade" looking reindeer glasses 
• Three 10 packs of Christmas themed pencils
• White and gold twine (not from the one spot, $1.50)
• One big color poster roll with Christmas pictures for $3 

     And below is how I put them together!  I cut 30 images from the roll, folded each of them, tucked each of them into the fold of the glasses, and then tied each pencil to the rim of each of the glasses.  In total, the process took all afternoon because the babies refused to take naps.  I originally wanted to roll the images like a maps, but I figured it would have been difficult to transport them without getting smashed.  

     That is all for now, Friend!  As always, thank you stopping by my side of the blog world!  

Until Next Write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

Party Supplies Shopping at Michaels!

Hello Friend!

     

     As promised, here is another post about a little Michaels shopping trip my babies and I went on on Black Friday.  I never thought our World Traveler theme would be so fun, but indeed it has been!  I just found out that my Uncle has been traveling the world recently, so he is very excited to join in on the festivities next month before he flies out to Cancun.  I really cannot wait to catch up with him.  Moments like this are so precious.  I feel much more at ease about the party as a whole since I have been much more inclined to be organized via my rediscovered love for planners and all things stationery.  My new obsession with memory keeping via Project Life makes me even more excited to record each moment.  It is true what they say about happiness being brought about by taking the time to be creative.  Everything that I have been doing lately has involved my love for God, family, friends, writing, crafting, and dancing.  It really has been such a joy.  

     The following picture is an overall shot of what we bought yesterday.  This was by no means a money saving haul.  I did get the 50% off coupon with my purchase which will be used to buy a large set of Project Life pocket pages later this week.  I am just about finished shopping for decorations at this point.  I will continue to share my DIY progress and any other birthday related purchases along the way.  

     This is the Vintage Traveler 12x12 scrapbook album.  How perfect is this design for a World Traveler theme?

     I am very new to Project Life, and I only really used the 4x6 and 3x4 cards in my pen pal letters and my planners.  After watching a few general YouTube videos about Project Life and scrapbooking, I decided to give this way of memory keeping a try for the 2015 year.  With how wonderfully busy my life has been getting, I feel like I need to actively record memories to not only remember them later but to also appreciate them more while they're happening.  Lately I have been thinking to myself things like "Wow, my 10 month old son just walked like a gorilla.  That's a really big deal.  Let me take a picture of that and journal about it.".  So after I congratulate and laugh with him, I take a quick picture, write a little note in my Erin Condren Lifeplanner that I use as a memory book for my sons, and then upload the picture to my Costco Photo Center account to be printed out later.  The process doesn't always unfold in a perfect play by play all the time, but I have recorded some pretty sweet memories using this process.  

     I also purchased this 6x8 Project Life Scrapbook mainly because I already had journal pages for this size.  The sale they had on Friday was a buy one get one free deal, so this $14.99 album was free with the purchase of the $19.99 12x12 album above.  

     The 6x8 journal pages fit my Lifeplanner just about perfectly.  I clipped one page in using the coil clips that I purchased with my Lifeplanner. 

     I purchased my first set of photo pocket pages shown above.  I wanted a layout with a lot of 4x6 pockets since that was how I ordered my photos.  This set was $6.99.

     I purchased two of these 6x8 photo pocket pages for the blue album.

     I love these clear stamps from Recollection.  The stamps were also buy one get one free.   This set was $9.99.  I was really drawn to the "Explorer Tag" stamp, and I plan to use it to label the party favors.

     The luggage stamp on the left was on clearance for $4.99.  I plan to use this for decorations too.   The "World Traveler" stamp was $7.99, but with the BOGO, it was free.

     And last but not least, this sticker book was on sale for $1.29.  I am making story book style passports for the kids, and I will be including these stickers in the back of their books.  

     Well my friend, that is all for now!  Stay tuned for more posts about our birthday party preparations!  

Until Next Write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

Mini Marshalls Haul

Hello Friend!

     Oh my, time has been flying!  Things have been a little up in the air the last few weeks, so now that things are a little more settled down, I am finding more time, reason, and drive to be consistent with both my blog posts and YouTube videos.  All the words I have been using to describe the past few weeks go really well with the next big adventure our family will be celebrating in the near future: our son's first birthday party!  My husband and I were on the fence about what theme to have for our son's party.  Our first son's theme was very much inspired by him and his interests in his first year of life, so we wanted that same feeling to go towards our second son's theme.  After much deliberation, we arrived at a mutual "aha moment" when I suggested a Travel theme.  Our son is a mover, and he is most content when he is travelling in some way whether it is in a car or in a stroller.  Once he figures out that walking is faster than crawling, we will have our work cut out for us for sure!  We were fortunate enough to travel a couple times this past year to spend time with family as well, so the travel theme seemed fitting for him and his first year of life.  I have also taken quite an interest in world travelling recently thanks to my international pen pals, so we decided to expand the theme to "World Travel" in hopes that some day he will be able to travel the world too.

     The pictures below are items that I bought from my recent trip to Marshalls at the Renton Landing in Renton, WA.  My family and I currently reside in a suburb close to Puyallup which is about 40 minutes away from Renton, so we do not frequent this shopping area very much.  I just love the items that I found, and the majority of them will be put to good use for my son's party.  My upcoming posts will focus a lot on our DIY projects for his celebration, the holidays in general, as well as other things I find fun and functional along the way.  

     

     Tadaaaa!  Above is a single shot of my little haul.

     The next two photos show in closer detail the pattern of the reusable Marshalls bags that I bought while I was placing all of my finds on the cashier's counter.  At .99 each, I just couldn't say no to the print!

     

     I love airmail patterns, and this bag caught my eye because of the airmail pattern on the side.  As my purchases were being scanned, I noticed the Globe themed bag and figured I could put it to good use for my son's party.

  

     At $14.99, this desktop globe will be sitting on the "Check In" table where our guests will be "checking in"(signing the guest book) and "dropping off luggage" (placing their gifts on the table).  I really want the kids to have a lot of interaction with each other and with the travel theme in general, so I am still brainstorming how I can incorporate this globe with games and the party as a whole.

     I am in total agreement with this statement, especially with all the holidays and planning come up!  Even though I am not a self professed coffee lover, I have been more interested in different blends.  My Dad recently returned from a trip to Kauai where we still own our family's home, and he bought me a great Kauai Coffee blend which inspired me to start looking for different coffee grinds in general.  This coffee was pricey, but since I found it in the clearance aisle for $4, I decided to give it a try.

     As always, I spent a long time going through the beautiful stationery aisle.  This little container of twelve mini cards and envelopes caught my eye mainly because of the vintage world print.  At $4.99, I decided that they would fit in nicely with either table decorations or party favors.  

     I don't know about you, but I have grown a great appreciation for kraft paper notepads like this made by Mara Mi.  I have another set which has "To Do" in black script in the upper left hand corner.  The kraft paper is only one sided, so the other side is plain white.  It has a great smooth finish, and I have not had any issue with bleed through except with Sharpies (not the Sharpie pens).  The check boxes, lines, and white print just resonate with the paper and list addict in me.  My husband and I are thinking about doing a scavenger hunt during the party, so this pad of paper may be used for that purpose in some way.  

     How perfect is this journal?  I am so glad that my son was being very patient with me as I perused the aisle for twenty or so minutes.  This was one of the last things I found, and I just fell in love with it.  The journal has a lovely Book feel to it with smooth pages and wonderful journal prompts.  This journal will be displayed on the Check In table in some way.  I may use it as a Time Capsule journal and record the trips we are taking as a family while he is still young, or I may hold on to it until he can travel on his own and then let him fill out the pages as he sees fit.  

     And, a little something for myself.  At $5.99, I could not resist the colorful geometric patterns of this notepad.  It was shrink wrapped, so I could not flip through the pages, but I liked that idea since I like purchasing untouched stationery.  Yes, I am one of those girls who likes to flip through things and then dig for the crispy untouched ones in the back.  Sorry.  

     I literally squealed with delight when I saw that the lines were a pretty mint color and that the arrows were the same color with a water color effect to it.  I have been very much into water color lately, so I thought that this was just a great serendipitous moment for me. 

     Another reason why I liked this notepad was because it was bound at the top.  I crossed my fingers that it would fit my Kikki-K lilac and gold compendium, and it fit perfectly.  I use my compendium for on-the-go pen pal letter-writing.  I will post a video about my compendium in the near future since I feel like I can give it a fair review after using it consistently for the past three months.       

     Well friend, there you have it.  My little Marshalls haul made me quite the happy camper.  I cannot wait to share with you the things we will be putting together for my son's World Traveler themed birthday party in my upcoming posts.  

     Have a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving!

Until Next Write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

My Plum Paper Family Planner Video!

Hello Friend!

     I am absolutely smitten over my Plum Paper Family Planner.  I have been getting great use out of her since the tail end of September, so I figured that a Review and Flip Through video would be appropriate.  Happy viewing!

Until Next Write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

A Look at My New Happiedori!

Hello Friend!

     My final online purchase arrived in the mail yesterday!  I say final because she really is the last thing I am going to order online for the forseeable future.  The holidays require much practice in self control and budget dieting.  And dieting in general for  that matter. 

     I bought this lovely Happiedori from Sam (@happiescrappie).  Sam is a paper crafting creative genius, and this Happierdori is her version of the Fauxdoris out there.  If you are not familiar with what Fauxdoris are, they are based on the Midori Traveler's Notebooks.  These notebooks are beautiful and typically handcrafted covers for...notebooks.  That may sound odd to a lot of people, but for journal and notebook enthusiasts like myself, it is another fun way to house our thoughts, drawings, lists, and braindumps.  So without further ado, I invite you to scroll along with me as I introduce you to Peach, my new Happiedori!

     Here she is!  Is she not a beauty?  Sam has a great online shop where you can customize your own Happiedori.  You can pick the colors of the outside, the inside, and the elastic.  I chose peach for the outside to represent a softer version of orange, patent yellow for the inside, and a purple elastic.  Orange, yellow and purple are my blog colors.  These three colors represent the bird of paradise.  

     Here is a "spine shot" of Peach.  Note the cute heart charm at the top.  I am planning to find a great charm to add to the bottom as well.  That will require me to re-thread the notebook, but Sam has a great YouTube Video which shows you how to do this.

     Sorry for the poor angle of this shot, but this shows you the open side of Peach.  I had a notepad booklet that I bought a while ago from Target's clearance section which fit perfectly inside Peach.  I am using the notebook as a guide to cut down patterned paper that I have collected over the years to create my own journal pages (see below).

     This shows you where the binding elastic originates.  You pull this around the entire notebook to keep it closed when not in use.

     One of my lovely penpals sent me a two year monthly calendar for my birthday, and I decided to keep it in Peach.  I can never have too many calendars.  I had to use my first passport sized Traveler's Notebook by @jonelifish (top left) to hold it down since it does not lie flat on its own.

     This is what Peach looks like beyond the two year calendar.  The left side is half of the notepad booklet, and the right side is the start of my DIY journal.  I made the journal by using the notepad booklet as a sizing reference, folding the paper in half, and then cutting it down to size so that nothing stuck out.  The width of the paper (standard 8.5 inches) was perfect for Peach, so no trimming was needed.  

     Here is the center of my DIY journal.  You can see where the elastic holds everything together.  There is a way to bind the notebooks with more elastic so that they do not sit on top of each other like they do in mine.  Please refer to Sam's video for tips on how to do that.  The plastic you see was included in Peach.  Most gals as well as myself are using it as a Dashboard for sticky notes.

     This is the back of  Peach.  The left side shows the back of my DIY journal, and the right side shows the other side of the notepad booklet.  

This shows how the elastic is tied into the back flap of Peach. 

     

     So far I am loving my new Happiedori.  I have been using her since Saturday, and she now houses my daily to-do list.  I usually take a lot of planning, reading, and writing material with me to work so that I can catch up with things on my breaks.  Peach will allow me to keep my planning material at home on my days off.  The only thing that I do not like about Peach is her smell.  I am not sure if the smell is from the adhesive that was used to glue the different material together or if it is coming from the actual material.  I guess I have been spoiled with the lovely leather smell of my passport notebook shown in the previous pictures.  That is a minor detail for me though.  I hope you found this post helpful!  As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!  

Until Next Write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

Hello Friend!

     Today consisted of yet another satisfying trip to Target.  I like going to different locations, and we just so happened to be in an area we only occasionally frequent, so I had to stop in and see what this particular store had to offer.  Scroll along with me as I show you what I found!

I have grown to love Sharpie pens.  These were on sale for .75 each.  This happened to be a color I didn't have, so I snagged it. 

I did not know EOS (Evolution of Smooth) made medicated lip balm, so I decided to try it out for $2.99.  Orange is the perfect color for this season anyway! 

I have grown to love owls, especially after reading this interpretation of what they symbolize: intuition, ability to see what most people do not, etc. 

These gift tags are perfect not only for gifts but also for my pen pals! 

Page flags are  a must for all planner enthusiasts, and these cute, petite page flags are a hard find.  This was the only set I could find in a sea of notepads and sticky notes.

These labels are so fun.  This picture shows the front and back of the package, so yes, each sheet is basically .50!  I plan to use them in my planners and my pen pal letters.

I am usually not a fan of Halloween paraphernalia,  but these glitter stickers were too kawaii to pass up!

I credit my three year old for this purchase.  He saw the pumpkins and said he "had to have it".  I took a closer look at it and figured that it would be great in our smashbook!  Plus, I am planning on decorating a big pumpkin in a similar way that you see on these stickers so they'll serve as great inspiration when that time comes!  (1.99)

These awesome alpha stickers are gorgeous, but the thing that caught my eye was the fact that they were on clearance for .69 each!  They are marketed for the Halloween season, but I think they can be used all year round.  

     All in all, we had a marvelous time today, not because of the great Target run, but because I was able to spend time with my boys and my Dad.  A day off well "spent" indeed.  

Until next write my friend!

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

Medela Freestyle Packing Video!

Hello Friend!

     My, it has been a long time since I have posted.  Things have been pretty busy for my family and me, and I do apologize for the lull in activity.  Today I have an atypical subject to share with you all.  Actually, it is only atypical because I have never discussed this part of my life on my blog before.  This may very well become a "Page Tab" in the near future as I start to pick up where I left off!  Before I rediscovered my childhood passion for all things stationery, I went on a lengthy and drawn out hunt for two things: a terrific double stroller for my toddler and (at the time) newborn, and the perfect breastpump bag.  I found "stroller peace" when I decided on the Britax B-Agile Double in eye-catching red.  I did a back flip (okay, maybe just a quick jump in place) when the huge box fit into the back of our family GMC Terrain with room to spare.  After that task received its ceremonious X, I put all my efforts into finding the perfect breastpump bag.  I returned to work when my second son turned 6 weeks old.  I was determined to keep my milk supply up while working full time.  I definitely underestimated how much milk my poor baby needed on my first day back, so by the time I came home, my whole family was starving.   To make a long story short, I became the bag lady at work.  I had a purse, my Medela Freestyle bag, my lunch bag, a water bottle, and my Hawaii Starbucks travel mug.  Every single work day.  I never found it embarrassing to go on my "pump break" at work, but I did find the vinyl pump bag to be quite hideous and just plain boring.  After using my colorful Orla Kiely  double zip traincase for a few weeks, I came across my old Caboodles Cosmetic Travel Organizer and found "breastpump bag peace".  I think that a large part of my success with keeping my milk supply up had to do with my repurposed Caboodles bag and the thrill I got from the fact that everything just fit in it perfectly like a puzzle.  I had to train my brain to think that pumping at work was fun, and this little bag just made me smile every time I sat down to do my "Mama Tee" duty.  Please check out my video to see how everything, including the cooler, fits!  

     For all of you breastfeeding and nursing moms out there, I commend you.  I was not able to nurse my first son because of several reasons.  In hindsight, I know that if I had actually been comfortable and open to asking for help and advice from seasoned pros, I would have been able to breastfeed him too.  I admit, I had a bout of postpartum depression after I had my first baby.  I also admit that my second time around was not any easier, but I do know that nursing my sweet baby made all the difference in the world.  Before I get all sappy on you, please know that I am here to answer any questions you may have about my experience with both 100% formula and 100% breastmilk parenting.  I sincerely hope that you have found this post helpful and encouraging.  

Until Next Write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

GelWriter Tekwriter Pen Writing Sample!

Hello Friend!

     Our family went on a little Costco run today, and while perusing the toy aisle, I caught sight of this GelWriter 100 Count Pens pack!  I tried not to look at it too hard, but my husband took notice of what caught my eye.  He said he thought it looked cool, and that it would be fun to use when I smashbook.  He actually saw my smashbook this morning (I'll do a little video of my progress this week) and really liked it.  So, this made it home with us along with a bunch of other stuff we happened upon and figured we could not leave without.  Costco, you will only be visited once a month, pinky swear.  

     Instead of doing a pen review on every color this pack had to offer, I decided to use the darkest sparkle purple color to show how strong the ink was on the following planners' pages.  This pen and the few others I tried wrote on first write.  There was minimal skipping,  and with the purple pen shown below, the more I wrote, the stronger and smoother it became.  Without further ado, let's get started!  

Arial shot of how the pens are packaged.  They come on a rotating stand.  So fun!  

$19.99 at Costco.

Above is the Day Designer, front and back views.  I am using my husband's birthday as the event I am recording in each of the following planners since his special day will be recorded anyway.  

Above is the Simplified Planner, front and back views.

Front and back views of the 

Plum Paper Family Planner

Front and back views of the Lifeplanner.

     Overall, I am happy with my purchase.  Although it is obvious that these gel pens can bleed, I am not too concerned about that.  I love vibrant colors that write smoothly,  and these pens do the job!  

Happy writing, friend! 

Until next write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee