It is the start of a New Year and one thing that bugged me about myself last year was that I let my work and everyday chaos interfere with things that I loved to do. From trying out new recipes, finishing books, having bubble baths at night, to keeping up on my blog.... This one was a big one for me. I am very much a perfectionist, and it bugged me that I could not keep up with my old blog; posting so many photos and journaling as much as I did, so instead of just starting up again under the old blog's name, I decided to start a new blog all together.

It is kind of like when I was little and started coloring in a coloring book, I would start at the very first page, even if I didn't like the picture and work my way to the end. If half way, I messed up, I would start a brand new book, crazy I know, but I just didn't like the feeling of finishing something that was not "perfect".... hard to explain, but this is the exact same feeling when it comes to this blog.

And so, "The Sweet and Simple" began. Just like its title, it will be sweet and simple! I will try my best to get a photo up every day, and by the end of the year, I hope to have a great set of photos to put into an album, chronicling 2011.

We'll see how it goes - enjoy!





This is Ben and his brand new "iPad". It is not the real thing, but to him it is. We got it at Costco for him tonight and he did not stop smiling the while time. It does everything an iPad does, but we got it mainly for books and movies and the odd game for the plane ride to Hawaii in a few weeks. He kept saying "thanks so much dad"!! Cute!