There are 5 things right now that are making me weirdly happy. They are all things that are either helping me to be more efficient, helping me to get things done or just making me feel good.
1. Groove book | Groovebook is an app that prints up to 100 of your phone photos and creates a photobook (4.5″ X6.5″) that is mailed to you monthly. The photos are printed on glossy photo paper and perforated much like a postcard collection book. And the best part: You get all this for $2.99 per month including shipping. I received my first Groovebook a couple of days ago and just love it.
I had been looking for an inexpensive photo processing service for my Project Life and Scrapbooking and it doesn’t get better than this. The photo paper is a tad thinner than photo paper that you’d get through Walmart or CVS, but for my applications it’s a perfect fit. And you can’t beat the price. Check out Groovebook.com for more info.
2. Collect app | Keeping with the topic of phone photography, I’m also in love with the Collect App – designed so that collecting your photos every day is a joy not a chore. I use it to capture a photo a day plus help me to remember significant moments in every week. At the end of the month, I download the month of photos in a nifty calendar format and pop it into my Project Life album.
Here are some of the features:
- See all your photos for every month in a calendar display.
- Not only add a caption but also add detailed notes to each photo.
- Share each day & each month via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and email.
- The card format is perfect for printing when exported from the app. ( a great combo with Groovebook.)
- Have a different calendar for each part of your life.
- Collect as many photos as you want with the option for just one per day.
- Daily alert so you don’t miss a day in your “photo a day” quest. (Really handy)
3. My craft table/island | I have a love/hate relationship with my craft room. I had spent several weeks organizing and decluttering and finally reached the place where I have a spot for everything. I was really pleased but also faced with a gaping hole of unused space in the middle of my room (all my storage and work area goes around the perimeter of the room). My solution: A 3’X2′ craft table/island block in the middle of the room. 
I bought the 6 of the ClosetMaid 3-shelf stackable organizer from Amazon and set them up in a 3X2 configuration. We had an extra piece of 3X2 white laminate that I just conveniently placed on top. I also have a 3X2 self-healing quilt mat that fits quite nicely on top. And the best part – it’s the perfect height. I’m 4’10”, so finding a unit at the right height was tricky. And Ellie was a an excellent helper that day.
4. New sheets | This may seem odd, but I loovvee our new sheets. When we got married (25 years ago), we were given about 10 sets of sheets. I know that seems like a lot, but we really haven’t had to buy sheets in quite a long time – until now. I was a little taken aback by the price of queen sized sheets, but Kohl’s was having a sale and these babies arrived a week ago. I know the thread count is low, but for us they’re luxurious. We may splurge at Christmas and get another set.
5. Youth Dew | I’ve only used 4 perfumes in my life. I started with Love’s Baby Soft as a teenager, switched to Royal Secret in my early 20’s (I can’t find it anymore), found Byzance by Rochas in my 30’s (they don’t make it anymore) and finally landed with Estee Lauder’s Youth Dew. I do love Youth Dew, but it’s pricey. Recently, though, a very helpful Estee Lauder rep mentioned that I could buy the bath oil for $40 and have it last 4 times as long. I thought that was a brilliant idea and along with the free gift with $35 purchase made me feel relatively frugal. I bought this bottle on March 8th and use it everyday. As you can see this will last a while.
Is there anything you’re really appreciating at the moment?
Wanna know what 5 things I’m lovin’ right now?
1. my walks
2. my food
3. my naps
4. my treats
5. my mom {i threw the last one in ’cause Mother’s Day’s coming up and I don’t want you to think I never give you anything}
Layout #2 is called “Teddy”.
“I have to say I’m concerned now. Are you EVER going to do a layout with us?”
I had been out of practice until February, when I took part in a card swap for Valentine’s Day hosted by 
This was my contribution. I loved playing with all my pink and red washi tape and adding the splash of gold embossing for the sentiment.
Invitations: I used the burlap for the belly band of the invitation and as an accent flower.
I made table runners using the burlap and lace. Burlap is surprisingly easy to sew on. I cut 12″ X 24″ pieces of burlap and then attached pieces of lace to each end. They looked stunning against the white tablecloths.
Center Pieces: The centerpieces consisted of 3 mason jars, one large, one medium and one small. I found orange burlap with sparkles (so pretty) and cut strips to go around each jar. We then added ribbon and a button to cover the seam where the ribbon met. We filled the jar with daisies and baby’s breath. The combination of the three staggered sizes against the burlap was beautiful.
Wedding Favors: And finally the wedding favors. My friend wanted to give handmade soap to her guests wrapped in burlap. I used a recipe I found in 
This isn’t the card I envisioned when I first looked at the inspiration photo, but I’m delighted with the results.
While Walking My Dogs 