Backpacking Essentials

Thought I should share my favorite little lifesavers from my recent backpacking trip in Europe.

- Secret purse for peace of mind

- Sunglasses for style

- Hat to cover travel hair

- Backpacking backpack, duh

- Blanket for cold hostels 

Reading List Update

 

Its maybe going to snow tonight, time to read! Unfortunately I only got through half of last years list before needing to add more. The bottom 4 are actually some novels that I really enjoyed earlier this year. You can judge me all you want for The Fault in our Stars, but it was the best airplane read, super fast and entertaining. Sucker for a little romance.

Golden Girls

Was shopping for gold shoes for a friends wedding. Got a little distracted. So many lovely ladies out there. 

1. American Apparel  2. Adidas Originals X Jeremy Scott  3. Fendi  4. Kate Spade 

Drinks in Portland

Four of my favorite drinks I had when vacationing in Portland, OR. 

HOWLER from Harlow

The most refreshing juice. 
Pineapple, ginger, cucumber, parsley, kale, & spinach.

S'MORE STOUT from Base Camp Brewing Co

I'm not the biggest beer fan, but when in Portland… 
This one was de-lish, chocolate, coffee, and a little smoke. 
Of course it comes with a perfectly toasted Mallow.

BLT Martini from The Gilt Club

House roma tomato vodka, basil & lemon olive oil and bacon salt. 
Looks weird, tastes exactly like my dreams.

The Sapphire Hotel
Unfortunately can't remember the name of this last pepper cocktail. 
But I love anything with a bite, and this one had some major kick.

K, now I'm thirsty. 

Wardrobe

One / Two / Three / Four

Bought a little too much on ModCloth today. I leave for Thailand soon and realized I don't have much clothing suitable for 90 degree weather. Sounds like an excuse to shop, don't you think? I don't check bags, so dresses and skirts are the easiest things to pack. I hope I'll have enough pieces to mix and match for 2 weeks.

Pen Pal

New pieces from my "Commentaries" project. They are all quotes from my darling friend Ray. The first set of quotes are up on my shop and were recorded while she was creating new pieces of art. I just started writing down odd things she would say, mostly to herself about how she felt about what she was making. I imagined them as signs up in other artists studios as a reminder that most artist have similar internal experience when trying to create something. Ray has since moved to Thailand and we have been conversing and sending little doodles via snail mail. They are super fun little projects. More to come.

Wheelies

We shot this adorable kid a while ago for work. He was amazing and super pumped to be on the bike. He wanted to do all kinds of tricks and looked like he was having so much fun. Those kinds of photo shoots are a peice of cake, when you get a kid that's superstar. Of course, I ended up getting on set after and attempting a couple tricks on the tiny bike. There is one shot of me that I will probably never show out of fear of completely embarrassing myself. My wheelie attempts are pretty sad.

I do consider myself a little bit of a biker, but not an extremest. Without a car, the bus and my bike are my only means (and very kind friends). Once the snow starts sticking my poor bike gets neglected. When making this silly gif I chuckled a little. This is totally the image I have in my head of how I feel in the dead of winter. When you think winter is almost over and then MN decides to dump a couple more blizzards in March. I'm so antsy to get on my bike, I imagine myself doing little wheelies in the living room going slightly insane... and winter's only just begun. Oof.

Photographed by Michael Haug

Christmas come early

I put two holiday cards up on my shop. They will also be available at the annual MCAD Art Sale, along with several other various pieces of my art. Happy shopping! 

This Week

Designed/Art Directed by yours truly.

Feeling Like A Fool

After being stood up last night in the rain....

Winter Reading

MN is turning chilly. I'm ready to hibernate in my apartment with some good books. I finally spent the time to find all the different places that I have noted titles of books, from screenshots on my phone to little post-its here and there. I even found an old email from Lady 'Librarian' Katharine of 10 must-read and excitedly crossed off 4 titles that I had already read. I'm actually surprised that this list isn't much longer. With the possibility of a little girly book club around the corner... I'm excited to flip through these babies.

Home

Before

After

Scored this amazing dresser at an estate sale early this summer for only $20. Finally got around to painting it a lovely grey/blue. Plus a couple coats of polyurethane for a little gloss. It goes with my Great Grandmother's picture so nicely. Best part, it fits all of my art and design supplies, definitely beats the plastic tubs I used before. You can also see the brass bed frame that I got from another estate sale for only $35. Estatesales.net is my new best friend.

Kudos to my Mother for both of the estate sale finds, and to my Father for all the supplies and fixing/welding the bed-frame!

Some Solid Patterns

 

I made these a while ago, just for fun. Can I do little things like this all day long? The diamond on inspired my new tattoo that I will post a picture of soon.

Kitten Love

This is Frodo. He's adorable. I've watched him before. He's a little bit bashful.

Mattress Protector Ad.

Could be. Ha. Traumatized. Ew.