I got kind of behind last week and ended up finishing week 8 and putting together week 9 all in one sitting. It still turned out great and there was really no stress involved.

Week 8

I got the layout done and most of the pictures put in quickly and added just a little bit of journaling. One reason that it took me so long to finish is because I’ve been having problems with our printer. It’s not completely broken, but using it is a two-person job and way too much of a hassle. So I had to wait until I could make it to my parents’ house to get that stuff done.

Meredith turned 8 months old that week, so I put in a picture from her monthly photoshoot and a shortened version of her monthly blog post. I thought it was cute how she was lugging around that 3-pound weight, so I included that picture, and we had one little flower in our wild backyard so I put it in too. I also joined a local co-op and took a picture of my first purchase (I only got a few things because I wasn’t sure how the process would go).

I thought this quote from Harry Potter was appropriate for my life that week because I was struggling mentally with all of the things that I wanted to do and be. I was getting caught up in trying to change things instead of enjoying what I had. I’m not saying making plans is bad, because I did that and it was helpful. But I was actually grateful when Meredith got sick and I was forced to relax and just cuddle.

So I wrote a little bit about her sickness. There is also the card I made, me wearing my new shoes, my friend Lauren (it was her birthday!) with Meredith, first bluebonnet sighting, and my running shoes to commemorate my first run in over a year.

I wanted a spot to record more in-depth how I was feeling, so I just wrote on some paper I liked and folded it over and clipped it to some cardstock.

Week 9

I didn’t take many photos this week so I had to get a little creative, and as it turned out I think this might be my favorite spread yet.

I chose this quote because I began to take charge of all the little areas I had let slip away from me and I made a lot of progress and noticed a huge difference in my mental state. I don’t always find quotes that match up perfectly with what’s going on, but it’s nice when it happens.

The “we” paper is clipped from a West Elm catalogue, and I took those photos of my new haircut on my phone and made the collage with the Diptic app.

By the way the labels I mostly use are from Paper Source. I love them. Another way I label, like on the picture of Meredith crawling(!) is punch out a circle from cardstock, draw around the edge with a colored pen, cut it in half, and staple or tape it to the photo.

And that picture of Cleo cuddling with Meredith – oh my gosh. They love each other and it’s adorable.

The paper I taped the picture of the clouds to is actually one of these grid Post-it notes. I just cover the sticky part on the back with paper. The “Hello, spring” lettering is from the Madewell catalogue.

I included my friend’s business card because she’s selling essential oils and I went to an informational meeting about them at her house. (Super excited about investing in them to use for health purposes.) The paper I stapled it to is from the blank Smash pad. Most of the Smash products are great to use in Project Life.

Then there’s a picture of a card I made at craft club, my list of the week’s activities, and the “wonderful takes work” was a free download from Elise. I knew when I saw it that I would include it because the sentiment was perfect for this week.