Love You & Me

I was absolutely tickled the other day when I saw this photo that Ethan snapped of Zoey and I. I wasn't too hopeful when it came to looking over the shots he took of me on our hiking adventure this past weekend since I hadn't showered that day and wasn't feeling exceptionally photogenic (though, when do I?) so was pleasantly delighted when looking through my camera once at home and discovering this sweet shot of the two of us. I knew I wanted to use it on a layout right away.

Every day I keep waiting for the tween/teen angst to show it's roaring colors when it comes to Zoey and I and am so happy that so far, we're continuing to meet each other half way 99% of the time. I love this girl of mine so much and am so proud of who she is becoming and that she is still holding on to respect, kindness and courage when it comes to fostering her relationships. With her peers, younger kiddos and adults alike...it's a pretty brave thing to do at this age when girls tend to become followers and feel most comfortable being just one among a crowd. I hope, hope, hope that she continues to see what a gift it is to continue to just be herself...to be comfortable in her own beautiful and unique skin. I want that freedom for her.

For this layout design my inspiration came from this sketch from Page Maps.

For all of my recent layouts I've been using old papers and goodies from my scrapbook stash...I have no idea what the trends are in scrapbooking these days since it's been awhile since I've been scouring blogs and crafting sites and I have to say that it feels somewhat liberating just to dig in to my supplies and get to it like I did in the old days when I didn't know any better.

One thing that I'm finding disappointing however (getting into this again) is the lack of being able to purchase supply staples in my hometown like I used to be able to do. I'm having to order online. No more runs to the craft store for white cardstock, kraft cardstock, getting my favorite adhesive, etc. Bummer. I have discovered Scrapbook.com though. I think this may be a good thing?

And on a completely different note, those pumpkin seeds that I roasted the other day...YUM! So good! After baking them up in the oven Ethan came home from work at noon and made sure to share the sentiment of please saving some for him for when he was done with work. They are a new favorite snack and so very easy to make! Can't wait to try different seasoning variations sometime.