Indy 500

500 Fashion Fridays

Two of my favorite things are fashion and showing off. Scratch that, two of my favorite things are saving money and supporting local establishments. That’s why I’m excited about 500 Fashion Fridays back in Indy this May. You don’t need to be a fashionista to participate in this fun May activity around the city. Just wear black and white or racing attire and mention #500FashionFridays for a discount at these participating restaurants.

Race off to one of more than 50 restaurant locations to participate in #500FashionFridays!

500 Fashion Fridays

500 fashion fridays restaurants

For more information and some fashion inspiration check out this blog from Pattern.

Or just take my advice for what to wear to the race. I’ve worn everything from a swimsuit to a sweatshirt with gloves and everything in between!

top 5 indy 500

indy 500 race 2017

Love Letters Scrapbook

Love letters scrapbook is awesome to keep memories in one spot. My husband and I have a lot of letters, cards, drawings and tickets from the past 8 years. I had them all in two shoe boxes that we never looked at. I wanted to be able to have them in a place that was easy to pull out and flip through when I’m feeling especially girly and sentimental. I wanted this book to be all about the contents and not about the stickers, brads, gems and extra goodies I usually put into scrap booking, so I picked up a Smash Book binder from Michael’s and started loading everything in! Our love letters scrapbook is now one of my favorite keepsakes.

DIY Love Letters Scrapbook

Love Letters Scrapbook

The first step was to sort through the most important memories. All of our memories are special but they can’t all fit in one book and I wanted them all in one space (up to this chapter of our lives). The next step was to attempt to put them into chronological order. This was, by far, the most time consuming step of the whole project. I didn’t stress out if I couldn’t remember when something had happened…I’d just throw it in somewhere close to that time period.

I loved that this book had a large pocket in the front and back to put larger treasures. I also used photos as pockets by adhering glue dots to the back and making it look pretty with washi tape on the front.

DIY Love Letters Scrapbook

By layering pamphlets with their tickets, I was able to create a tangible layout. I’d kept the keycard holder from the hotel we stayed at and used it to hold the keys and tickets. I left everything in the envelopes accessible so we can pull them out later on. Envelopes also made for great pockets to hold letters.

I also bought a pack of hole punched folders to stuff holiday cards. I’ve saved all of the cards from flowers that Jeffrey has sent me and put them in the mini pocket folders. Anything that was a little heavier, I adhered with glue dots.

DIY Love Letters Scrapbook

DIY Love Letters Scrapbook

Anything that was double sided, I attached with washi tape so we’d be able to lift and read both sides. Again, in the above photo, I used an envelope that held a card because it had writing on the back that I didn’t want to be glued to the page.

In a few cases I had a lot of one thing (tickets, letters, art) so I made an envelope out of scrap paper and glue dots but covered with washi tape to make it a bit prettier.

DIY Love Letters Scrapbook

DIY Love Letters Scrapbook

DIY Love Letters Scrapbook

I’d also gotten a clear photo holder  that was by another company so I had to re-punch the holes. I wanted something clear that would hold photos, or in this case, movie tickets.

With the pack of hole punched folders I’d already mentioned, I added all of the remaining holiday cards. Another helpful technique was to accordion letters and tape one edge so you could unfold the letter to read it. I would show you a picture but I don’t want our love letters on the internet.

DIY Love Letters Scrapbook

As always, a shot of my work area: messy. I was sure to include a few photos sprinkled throughout to show what we looked like during these memories. I have several photo scrapbooks already but wanted a memory album full of  tickets and love letters. There are a few more pages left in the book but it’s so packed I can hardly wrap the elastic around it. I’ll just have to make a new one in 5 years! Have any of you made a memory album? What do you do with all the little trinkets you save from trips, birthdays and invitations?

Similar Posts:

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Check out my Scrapbooking board on Pinterest for more ideas:
Follow Shelly @ DIY Mama’s board Project Life & Scrapbooking on Pinterest.

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Love Letters Scrapbook

Top 5 Things You Need to Know About the Indy 500

The top 5 things you need to know about the Indy 500 include race history, atmosphere, what to pack for the race, tradition and the extra events. This will mark my 24th consecutive year of attending the Indianapolis 500 in my 31 years on this Earth. I’ve been so fortunate to grow up in Indiana just a few towns from Speedway.

I have not been sponsored to write about the Indy 500 but I have added affiliate links to my favorite products. All opinions and experiences are my own.

top 5 things you need to know about the indy 500

History

The first Indianapolis 500 race was ran in 1911 but the gravel track had been built in 1909. The first race ran on the track was the Prest-O-Lite which resulted in two fatal accidents because of the road condition. The owner had the track paved with 3.2 million bricks which is why the track is now referred to as The Brickyard. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the largest sports complex in the world in terms of capacity therefore making it the largest single day sporting event in the world. Last year, for the 100th race, Rossi won $2.5 million making it one of the richest cash prize funds in sports. The IMS has a great Hall of Fame Museum on the grounds showing the history of racing at the track.

indianapolis motor speedway aerial shot

indy 500 tickets

Atmosphere

The buzz of race fans on race day is like none other I’ve experienced. Some fans camp outside the track for a week leading up to race day. The morning festivities are my favorite part of the entire event. Walking past the campers in their stupor at 8am, meeting up with my family at our seats and then heading down to watch the pre-race events. My alma mater Purdue Marching Band plays around the track, the Indy 500 Princesses have a parade, the drivers have a parade, the military marches and then my favorite part: everyone sings Back Home Again in Indiana. I can’t help but cry every time I hear that song because the Indy 500 is such a special event. Once everyone has left the track, those famous six words are uttered as 300,000 fans are screaming at their seats ‘Ladies and Gentleman! Start your engines!’ The excitement only escalates as the familiar sound of the Indy cars zoom by. It’s the kind of event that you want everyone you know to experience it at least once.

What to Pack

Because I have been 23 times, I have had a lot of time to perfect what we need to bring to the track. In order to be as mobile as possible, we each carry one back pack.

North Face Backpack 1:

Cooler Backpack 2:

  • Mt. Dew
  • Lemonade
  • Frozen grapes
  • 2 Croissant chicken salad sandwiches
  • Pretzel M&Ms

Suggestions:

If you’re sitting in the backless bleachers, rent a cushion with the back at the track. Leave a cooler of cold water bottles in the trunk for your ride home. Some people change in the car after the race because you get very sweaty at the track. Always wear comfortable shoes. The walk is deceiving. I usually dress in layers with a tank top under a t-shirt and a light long sleeve shirt with shorts. I’ve worn everything from a sweatshirt and jeans to a swimsuit to the track because the weather is very unpredictable in Indiana.

Tradition

Tradition is a huge part of the Indianapolis 500. My family has been attending the race since 1953. One of our favorite traditions is to buy the newspaper with all the racers info and cut out their photos. Each person pays $1 to draw a driver out of the hat and whoever wins gets $33 (the number of drivers in the Indy 500). We also must always have the giant Twizzlers bucket that is passed around our section.

top 5 indy 500

top 5 indy 500

Extra Events

Throughout Indiana, Hoosiers are buzzing with anticipation starting with the Kickoff to May event.  The 500 Festival does an awesome job keeping race fans excited about the events leading up to the big race. Everything from wearing black and white for Friday Fashion to Georgia Street Activities (Food Truck Fridays, working out each Wednesday with race personalities).  Everyone is invited to watch the IPL 500 Festival Parade downtown Indy that has been running since 1957. More exclusive guests hope to score tickets to the Snakepit Ball the night before he race. This year you’re able to skip the lines and purchase your gear online ahead of time. This eliminates the letdown of your favorite shirt being sold out! Check out the IMS plan your visit page for more info on buying your gear as well as lodging, parking, maps and much more.

If you have been or are planning on a visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for an Indy 500 race, let me know. I love hearing about what other people love about Indianapolis!

 

5 things you need to know about the indy 500

35 before 35: My Bucket List

I loved Courtney’s idea to do a 30 by 30 list! I, however, will be 30 in less than a year and thought it’d be too much to complete 30 new things in that amount of time…hence the 35 deadline. 🙂 Deadline sounds so strict…how about goal! No, I’m not freaking out because I’m almost 30. Honestly, I have to count on my fingers to figure out how old I am because that’s how little I care about my age. Yes, I still use my fingers to count. I don’t think people should be ashamed of their age. 1. You can’t do ANYTHING about aging. 2. It just shows that you’ve had that many more experiences. I really think I can get in all 35 new experiences in 5 years. Anyone else have a list like this? I’d love to see! Follow along as I cross these things off my 35 before 35 list.

35 before 35

35 before 35

  1. Go to another Disney park
  2. Run a 5k
  3. Visit my family in CO
  4. Have a sibling for Soph
  5. Organize the entire house
  6. Join a Moms group
  7. Host a holiday at our home
  8. Listen to music at an outdoor ampitheater
  9. Learn about the stars at the planetarium
  10. Paint 10 paintings
  11. Sew a quilt
  12. Pick apples at the orchard
  13. Pay for the next person’s movie
  14. Organize a community clean up
  15. Design and make stained glass
  16. Read 10 of these classics
  17. Go to Lalapalooza
  18. Camp out at the Indy 500
  19. Go spelunking
  20. Take a skiing lesson
  21. Meet Trent Reznor (ok, this is a stretch)
  22. Take my daughter to meet Mickey Mouse
  23. Be school debt free
  24. Take a sushi making class
  25. Go horseback riding
  26. Harvest my own garden
  27. Use a rain barrel or compost
  28. Fly in a hot air balloon
  29. Go on a vacation with my sister
  30. Make our wedding scrapbook
  31. Take a couples dancing lesson
  32. Cosplay at the D23 Convention
  33. Monetize my blog
  34. Make every recipe from Max Brenner
  35. Become a yoga guru (or an intermediate yogi)

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