My friend is having a blog party...

Hi everyone.

I'm spreading the word, so mark your calendars!

My friend Val is having a birthday blog party and it starts this Friday June 1st @

http://allthingschula.com/

There's going to be lots of giveaways and fun stuff all month long, so don't forget to stop by her awesome blog each day!

On a side note, my memorial weekend was really nice and relaxing.  I'm finally up to date with my Project Life and Week in the Life albums {I'm so happy about that}.  Again the weather has been pretty cloudy around here lately so once I get decent pictures taken I will share.

I do have a little sneak peak though...

 

Tomorrow is Thursday {not Wednesday - the whole being off Monday is throwing me off LOL}

Enjoy the rest of your week!

xxx Marlene

Summer TV 2012: What are looking forward to seeing?

I'm so excited for all the new/returning TV shows that are coming out this summer.

Most of all I'm excited to watch the 2012 London Summer Olympics.  I've loved watching the olympics since I was really young, it's just so exciting and I love the opening and closing ceremonies so much.

So I wanted to put together a list of all the shows that I'm really looking forward to seeing.  If you want to see the complete list, see this article from The Huffington Post.

MAY 2012

"Around the World in 80 Plates"

Wed., May 9, 10 p.m. ET on Bravo

If "Top Chef" contestants were sent on a trip around the world, you'd have something as frenetic and fascinatingly food-filled as "80 Plates." First stop: London.

I watched two episodes so far and it's really good.

"Food Network Star"

Sun., May 12, 9 p.m. ET on Food Network

They're shaking things up this season, with Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis and Alton Brown picking teams to coach the contestants to the grand finale and the chance to win their own Food Network cooking show.

I have the first 2 episodes on my DVR list still to watch, but I love this show.

"America's Got Talent"

Mon., May 14, 8 p.m. ET on NBC

Howard Stern is coming to TV -- is there anything else to say?

I miss Piers Morgan, but I like Howard Stern and he's so nice.

"Duets"

Thurs., May 24, 8 p.m. ET on ABC

Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Thicke aren't just judges or mentors for this new reality singing competition -- they're partners with their wannabe contestants. The best amateur duet partner wins a recording contract with Hollywood Records.

Looks really interesting, can't wait to check it out.

"So You Think You Can Dance"

Thurs., May 24 8 p.m. ET on Fox; moves to regular time slot on Wed., May 30, 8 p.m. ET

Less is more in the case of "SYTYCD" this season. No, we won't have an extra elimination show each week, but maybe that'll make the one episode a week that we do still get even more of a must-see.

LOVE this show, I've been watching it every season.

JUNE 2012 PREMIERES

"Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition"

Sun., June 3, 9 p.m. ET on ABC

Get ready for more inspiring total life makeovers as ABC's weight loss show returns with all new stories of obese people ready to make major life changes on TV.

I think this show will hold me over until Biggest Loser starts back LOL

"Hell's Kitchen"
Mon., June 4, 8 p.m. ET & Tues., June 5, 8 p.m. ET on Fox

He's ba-ack! Let's hope the wannabe chefs have been working on their Beef Wellington recipes. We know how picky Gordon Ramsay can be ...

And their risotto dishes too LOL  Can't wait to see Chef Ramsey yell at a whole new bunch of "donkeys"

"MasterChef"
Mon., June 4, 9 p.m. ET & Tues., June 5, 9 p.m. ET on Fox

And for even more Gordon goodness -- and the added bonus of his fellow judges, Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich -- "MasterChef" is heating up this season with the most promising and talented bunch of home cooks yet.

Love Joe Bastianich (Lidia's son) - love all of them - great show!

"True Blood"

Sun., June 10, 9 p.m. on HBO

Waiting sucks, but the wait is almost over for Season 5, which picks up right where the shocking Season 4 finale left off. One thing we're especially excited for: finally flashing back to see how Eric turned Pam.

Team Bill * Team Bill * Team Bill

"Dallas"

Wed., June 13, 9 p.m. ET on TNT

Welcome back to Southfork Ranch, where the "Dallas" alum and some fresh blood are still scheming and backstabbing for the rights to that black gold bubbling under the surface in their own backyard.

Will be cool to see the old cast members again right?

 

"Falling Skies"
Sun., June 17, 9 p.m. ET on TNT

Season 2 picks up three months after Tom (Noah Wyle) went aboard that alien ship, and his kids are still searching for him while helping to lead the 2nd Mass alongside Captain Weaver (Will Patton).

Okay what did those aliens do to Tom up on that ship?  Can't wait to find out!

"Craft Wars"

Tues., June 26, 10 p.m. ET on TLC

Tori Spelling hosts this new TLC crafting competition show that pits three crafters against each other each week for challenges in all areas of crafting.

I want to be on this show LOL  Looks fun and I love Tori.

JULY & AUGUST 2012 PREMIERES

"Trust Us With Your Life"

Tues., July 10, 9 p.m. ET on ABC

Improv is back on TV with this new show, from the creators of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," hosted by Fred Willard. Celebrities like Ricky Gervais and Florence Henderson tell funny life stories while the cast of improvisers reenacts them.

I loved Whose Line Is It Anyway?, so hoping this is just as good.

"Big Brother"

Thurs., July 12, 9 p.m. ET on CBS

We don't know what the season's big twists will be yet, but we'll bet it's something big -- after 13 season, it has to be.

MY ALL TIME FAVORITE SUMMER TV SHOW, I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

"Design Star"

Tues., July 31, 9 p.m. ET on HGTV

Twelve new designers from all over the country will be vying for the ultimate reality TV prize: their own HGTV show. We've missed judges Genevieve Gorder and Vern Yip's brutally honest banter and, of course, Season 1 winner David Bromstad's charm.

This show is awesome, love Genevieve and Vern!

"Hotel Hell"

Originally slated to premiere in June, Fox moved it to later this summer, TBD

And now, a new Gordon Ramsay show ("Hell's Kitchen" and "MasterChef" just aren't enough for some) to complete what Fox has dubbed the "Summer of Gordon." This one follows him as he whips ailing hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts into shape.

Sounds awesome, especially for a big Gordon Ramsey fan.

Leave a comment and share with me some shows that you're looking forward to this summer!

What I wore this weekend & a layout share...

Sometimes you get those weekend where it feels like it'll never end and some just go by in a flash.  This one went by in a flash but it good none the less.  Saturday was a busy day, we went to have breakfast and then to a flea market.  Have you ever seen those little flowers in a pot that are solar powered and the flower dances?  Well I've been wanting one for so long and I found it - totally made my day LOL

This is what I wore on Saturday:

Max and I wore our matching NY Ranger t-shirts:

After the flea market we went over to the mall.  The kids needed haircuts desperately LOL

Michael calls this haircut the "Mad Men" hairstyle.

I also got to work on my latest Project Life page and Week in the Life.  Now I thought putting together my WIL album would be a breeze, but far from it.  It's a ton of work and it's definately going to take me longer then I thought it would.  But that's okay, I'll get it done eventually.

I was chatting with my friend Val about how I haven't been scrapping much lately and how I felt like my creativity was wanning and she encouraged me to scrap some layouts again.  So I took her up on the challenge and I got two layouts done this weekend!  It was so much fun to get a little creative again!

Have a wonderful week ahead!

xxx Marlene

PL Week 18

Wow I can't believe I forgot to share Week 18 with you all.

For this week I decided to spread one week out between two page protectors.  Each day of the week had a slot for a picture and a slot for a journaling card.  I really like the way it turned out.

These journaling cards are by Geralyn Sy, you can buy them here!  I love her designs!

I have a board on Pinterest of projects that I want to create and my bottom right hand side card was inspired by one of those pins.  I loved using all different washi tapes.

New blog design....

I'm so excited for my new blog design!!!

My awesome friend Val Lopez created this design for me and I just love it.

It's so me LOL  I just wanted to share with you guys.

I hope you're having an awesome week so far!

And if you're looking to give your blog a facelift, check her out here!

Hugs, Marlene

This weekend...

This weekend was awesome!  Saturday the boys and I and my parents went to my sister's house to celebrate my birthday and Mother's Day.  My sister treated me for a pedicure which was so nice and then we did a little shopping.  The shopping center had a big huge brick wall and of course the first thing that pops into my head is "Photo Op" LOL  My family beared with me as a took tons of pictures of them. 

My sister hamming it up:

My mom (so cute):

My little nephew Mason:

My nephew Gianni, the funniest kid ever: 

 Maxwell stricking a pose:

 Michael looking like he wants to kill me for taking yet another picture of him:

My favorite picture of the day:

 Blurry shot of the Brooklyn Bridge on the way home:

Mother's day was another great day too.  The weather was amazing.  We had reservations at one restuarant but we left because they were only serving dinner from a special menu and no one liked what was on that menu.  We went somewhere else, not our first choice but it was still nice.  I got a lot of cute gifts from everyone and Maxwell made me the cutest card at school.

The Birthday Blog Prize Winner is....

 Congrats Marsha!!!

I'll be mailing your prize sometime next week.
Thank you all for the wonderful birthday wishes, I really appreciate it.  They totally made my day!

Hugs,

GifStich

Hey guys, look what I made!

I was checking out this blog post from PampleMousse1983 and I went searching for an Android version that would do the same thing. I found GifStitch and it's so easy to use.

Have a great day!

My Week in the Life album...

On Monday's post I told you all that I would share my Week in the Life album. I'm currently taking pictures all this week and it's been fun, not a chore at all. I was really inspired to do my own take on the Memory Files by Heidi Swapp. I've always loved file folders, I guess it's just my love for office products in general LOL  Instead of using a file folder for this though, I took an old college catalog that I had lying around since it was a little more sturdier and I took out all the inside pages. I then cut it down so that it would fit my 8.5 x 11 page protectors.

My whole concept is that I want this to go inside my Project Life album. Sure I could have just put these WIL page protectors straight into my PL album, but I wanted this to stand out and be separate in my album.

I love this camera paper from the new Amy Tan Sketchbook line, it's so cute. The polariods are from the DCWV Snapshot Stack and I added some Sassafras sticker boarders on the side.

I took an old sheet protector, cut it down, glued it onto the back of my album and added some fun washi tape so that I'll be able to just pop this album into my PL album.

I took four WRMK page protectors and sewed them into the right side of the album with some embroidery floss.  The inside pages where covered with DCWV Snapshot stack papers.  I'm going to use one side of the page protector for each day and I'll have two sides for Saturday. I also wanted to make a little pocket to hold these great Heidi Swapp Cardstock Photo Mats. I added the yellow camera paper but only glued down the top, bottom and right side so that it created a pocket.

I've been taking eight pictures a day and I plan to have a title card for each day of the week in the first slot. Once the week is over I'll print all my pictures and add them in. I'm not sure if or how I'm going to do my journaling. I may just focus on the pictures only, but it's up in the air for now.

I'll share my finished album next week.

Have any of you done Week in the Life? Link me up, I'd love to see what you created!

PS: If you haven't signed up for my birthday giveaway, there's still time!!! Check it out here!!!

My Birthday Giveaway...

Hi everyone!
Today is my birthday and I wanted to have a small giveaway for you guys!!!

Want to win this:

Just leave a comment here, you have until Friday May 11, 2012 8 pm EST

Week in the Life Day 1: Sun

I am finally getting around to participating in Week in the Life this year.  I know it's already over but I really wanted to have my special album done for this beforehand.  The weather here has been dark and gloomy practically every day, so I have to re-shoot the pictures of my album.  Hopefully I'll get them up here soon.

Here is what my Sunday looked like:

Woke up to find out that I had won the door prize at Scrapbook.com!!!  I can't believe it, I'm so excited!  Every National Scrapbook Day for the past 5 years I've been trying out to win something and I finally did.  My friends Val and Renee won too, I was so excited for them also.

Had beef lo mein for lunch at East Pacific.

Came home to find this beautiful butterfly on the lilac bush outside our house.

Cleaning (yuck).  These are my favorite cleaning products.

Decluttering my room.  Everything I saw pictures I saw how cluttered it looked and had to fix it.

Early birthday present I got from Sephora yesterday.

I love this crystal heart key chain Mom got for me.

Max came home and they're checking out his new comic book he got from his dad.

Watching Once Upon a Time.

PL Weeks 16 and 17

Catching up here with my Project Life...

Week 16: I used a lot of Dear Lizzy papers for this layout, some Amy Tan embellishments, labels from the new Martha Stewart line and my typewriter alpha stamps.

Week 17: I kept this really really simple and I love the way it looks.  I used the days of the week files from CutItOut - Diecut Frame Cards By Robyn Meierotto and the confetti mask file from Good Things Free Kit

By Audrey Neal, both purchased from Design House Digital.  I copied the file into MS Word and changed the fill option to different colors for each day of the week.  Oh how I wish I had a Cameo to cut these out, maybe one day LOL.

I'll be back soon with another post with all the details of how I'm putting my Week in the Life project together!!!

April Photo A Day

Here's a look at my April Photo A Day mosiac.  I'm going to be adding it into my Project Life album :)  I had fun taking these pictures.  I'm hoping I can keep up with it for the rest of the year!

If you guys haven't seen the list for May, here it is.  It's fun to add your photos to Instagram too.  If you'd like to follow me on there, I'm marlenefilipiuk