My Homemade Journal.

So my aunt showed my mom something so cool.
And then my mom showed me.
Now I'm showing you!

It's hard to explain how excited I get about nerdy things like books, new & old.
One day I will have my dream library. Like a Beauty & the Beast one.
Ty said I could.

But I'm not bragging about my future library right now.
I'm gonna brag about my new obsession my mama introduced me to.

My very own journal made from an old book. With sentimental value..
{this is not a tutorial. simply my step by step. take it how you will.}

I chose a book in one of my moms many bookcases.
She got out all of her stuff, the punch hole thingy, the bindings, paper etc...
And we started.

 Start with a book of your choice. This is mine.

 You need the Xacto knife to slice the front/back cover & pages from the spine.

Choose pages from the book to scatter in between your journal pages.

I picked the few pictures it had & some of the chapter title pages.

See that signature in the upper right hand corner? That is my mom's great grandmother's signature.

This was her book. Obviously I kept that page..

Slice up fresh pieces of paper & scatter them throughout the book pages.

The Zutter 'Bind it All' V 2.0

This is the hardest & trickiest part, takes a little time & patience.
You can only do so many pages at a time & depending how big you want your binding is how hard it will be.

Start the binding!

This picture was found in the book. Pretty sure it's from a magazine but my mom decoupaged it on a blank
page from the book & we stuck it in the back of my journal as the last page.
The spine of the book will be used as a bookmark inside the journal.

Et voila!

It looks old, shabby, dingy, the pages aren't perfect & I love it.
I will probably not use mine as a journal. I want it out for everyone to see!
Plus I'm just not a "journal" kinda gal.
So my mom suggested maybe a guest book for my home. Not a bad idea...

What do you guys think?!
You love too, right?
You want? My mom would totally make you one!
EMAIL ME for more info.

Norwood

~~~
Norwood, in Birmingham, AL, was probably the coolest {and scariest} neighborhood I've ever driven through.
These homes were absolutely UH-MAZING. Beautiful! Well, were.
A lot of the houses that you see above were occupied. Seriously, people lived in them.
And some were just vacant. Abandoned for years.
 
The homes started to be built in 1912 & by the 1920's-1930's, it was a thriving neighborhood full of Birmingham's most elite residents. It had schools, it's own little trolley, healthcare centers, & religious institutions.
After World War II, it started a slow, depressing decline as residents had started moving out due to the haze they lived in because of the neighborhoods high elevation & the fact the freeway was built that totally bypassed the neighborhood and cutting it off from part of "downtown".
Slowly but surely, the residents moved "to the other side of Red Mountain". More like Red Hill, there are no mountains in AL, haha.
The majority of the residents in this neighborhood now are black Americans {i refuse to say african american because not all black people come from africa}. And I'm pretty sure it's Crip territory... STOP sign, last pic. What chu think?
And a little girl, prob like 7 or 8 yelled out while I was taking pictures "what y'all think you're lookin' at!?"
She scared me and I ran off.

The city of Birmingham has dubbed Norwood as part of the Historic Registry. Which basically means, it's going to become beautiful again! People who care about elegant homes & history will move in & take care of their house. They just need to tackle the houses individually. There were quite a few houses that have already been stamped as "worthy", notice the 2nd to last picture has the sign bolted to the brick. Historic. Nooo touchey.

Minus the scary people staring at us, crack heads tweekin' and yelling at the ground, Crip graffiti errywhere & the sad looking homes that were once lived in by the olden days elite, I loved it. Loved.
And the houses were HUGE. My pics don't do them justice but they were giant. 

To read more about the history, go here.
If you want to read memories of the first residents who grew up in Norwood, go here.
If you want to just know more in general about it, go here.
You won't regret it. It's amazing.

Now that you know a little more about it, go back and look at my pics again.
Can you imagine growing up in one of those gorgeous homes and seeing it as it is now?
Kinda depressing huh?

My Birthday Listy.

//this bag has been on every list of mine ever since purchasing my Nikon DSLR. 

//tortugas design charm bracelet. i've been eyeing this the day she opened her shop back up!

//who doesn't want new kicks? hubby doesn't think i run enough... he's right. but i want them anyways.

//part 3 in the divergent series, comes out oct 22. i will have it!

//i have some rain boots that will look adorb with these f21 mint skinnies.

I feel like it's necessary to be extremely selfish on your birthday{14th}... I mean, that's when you were born.

As a wife & mommy, it's really the only day out of the year you can get away with it.

Respect to yo motha.

~~In honor of my birthday month, I have a giveaway coming up~~

~~So stay in touch and check back in with me in a few days.. Holla holla!~~

My new obsession is...

...washable crayons!

Seriously, I'm in loveee.

Sounds a bit dramatic, but my life has changed! 

No more worries about finding crayon markings on the walls, doors, floor, fridge, etc...

Damp cloth + One swipe = Crayon marking is GONZO!

The only reason we don't want our kids coloring on anything but paper is because it's such a struggle to clean. Now that it's not, I don't care! Drey can color on anything and everything.

#lettingkidsbekids