Project Life 2012 | Week Twenty-Seven

I am running a bit behind in documenting my weeks for Project Life, as our weekends, usually my dedicated time to piece everything together, have recently been filled with weddings, catching-up with friends, and planning our own wedding. That’s okay though – these are the weekends we will remember for years to come.  More to come soon.

Here is a look at our week number twenty-seven: Monday, July 2nd through Sunday, July 8th. It was a quiet week – one of those weeks without much on the calendar, a week that encouraged me to note the smaller, special things in life: lunch dates, Mike’s Batman keychain, our 4th of July dinner, engagement gifts and notes from our friends, Mike assisting me with photos, a trip to Coney Island.

Saturday Snapshot | Boys & Girls

Product Review | Dove Visible Care Softening Creme Body Wash

While many things have changed about me over the years, one thing has remained annoyingly persistent: my very dry, sensitive skin. No matter the environment or season, I am constantly fighting a battle to keep my skin feeling moisturized, hydrated, and soft. The winter months are usually the worst of the year, but the summer months can be just as challenging. I have high-intensity workouts at least five times each week, meaning staying hydrated becomes a bit of an issue: I am constantly attached to my water bottle, not only to ensure I am hydrated before and after working out, but also to keep my hydration levels high enough to help ease the dryness of my skin.

Over the years I have tried most soaps on the market: bar, oils, natural, organic, cheap, budget-friendly, expensive - you name it, it has appeared in my shower. I have very rarely stayed with one product; those which I did were usually just the best I had found to that point, but never good enough to stick with more than twice. The first time I stepped into my shower and lathered up with Dove Visible Care Softening Creme Body Wash, I could already feel the difference in my skin. As I huddled under the softness of my towel after my shower, I noticed one unusual, albeit welcome, difference - my skin was not screaming in pain for lotion.

Over the next week, I happily observed my skin transition to a point where it is hydrated throughout the day - from an over-air conditioned office, to the sweltering city streets, to a humid, non-air conditioned gym, my skin held up through every daily environmental change. At the end of a long work day and tough work-out, I couldn’t wait to hop in the shower and enjoy a few moments to relax with the stress-relieving scent of Dove Visible Care Softening Creme Body Wash. Now, instead of jumping from the shower to the lotion dispenser as quickly as possible to avoid the inevitable tightness and pulling of my skin, I have a few more minutes to relax and enjoy washing the stressors of the way down the drain.

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Apricot Nectar Cake with Lemon Glaze

When Mike and I visited my parents in Virginia this Easter, my mother was struggling to come up with the perfect dessert to serve after our long holiday meal. She wasn't struggling in the sense that she is not a good baker (she is) or that she did not have a plethora of recipes to try (she does), but I imagine quite like myself, sometimes the endless availability of beautiful desserts in every magazine and Pinterest can overwhelm one's excitement to actually create something new.

As I sipped my milky coffee and kept an eye on the pasture outside for the cows to begin grazing for the day, I thought through some of my favorite recipes from her file. Something simple, something she could whip up quickly without too much fuss so we would still have time to catch-up over after a few afternoon glasses of wine.

This cake fit the requirements perfectly. Incredibly easy to create, but don't be fooled - the crumb is unbelievably moist, while the apricot juice adds an extra later of flavor while expertly balancing the sweetness. All that and it is one of the most beautiful cakes to grace the top of a cake stand. Get your forks ready.

Project Life 2012 | Week Twenty-Six

Week number twenty-six – halfway through 2012. We got engaged! If I didn’t already love this project for so many reasons, this week definitely would have reminded me of just how special it is to put together a week work of memories. Some weeks are slow and harder to put together than others; then there are weeks like this where two pages is just not nearly enough to document just one day!

I decided to make the whole week about our engagement and trip to Blue Hill at Stone Barns. To incorporate the story of how Mike asked me to marry him, I added a 6x12 page protector with a memory circle from Ali Edwards. Along the left side, I added some sweet lyrics from a song; on the right, I added a strip from a paper by Katie Pertiet. I just used a pretty piece of scrapbooking paper for the backing. Do you like how I snuck a photo of my ring in there? Smitten!

I added lots of photo pages in order to keep all of the photos from the weekend together. The small strips of paper on the bottom of those pages is literature from the farm. I kept the walkabout map from the farm and added a heart where Mike popped the question. I also added the food and season journal from our dinner in one of the pockets. I plan on adding the receipt from our dinner in a small envelope. We’ve decided that while the cost still gives us heart palpitations (though worth every penny!), maybe one day our grandkids will look at it one day and think it was an inexpensive meal!

Saturday Snapshots | Bouquet of Flowers

Saturday Afternoon at Blue Hill at Stone Barns

On Saturday, Mike and I escaped the sweltering city, driving north to Pocantico Hills to spend a day exploring Blue Hill at Stone Barns. This farm and restaurant have been on my wish list for years. It just so happened to turn out to be the best day of my entire life.

Beautiful, colorful, breathtaking, relaxing. Our dinner would prove to be the most delicious and special dinner to date. So what exactly made this day so supremely special?