Up

 

This poster has inspired me to redecorate my room into something more mature and calming.  I've got a little too much pink going on right now and I'm ready to grow up a little.  By Fine Little Day.

Bark Knuckle Ring

Really loving this bark knuckle ring by Mr. Kate.  Shown with bow crown ring.  Check out all the other jewelry by Mr. Kate here. (photo: Mr. Kate)

Killing Us Softly

 

I watched Killing Us Softly 4 last week and haven't stopped thinking about it.  Have you seen it before (or any of the previous ones)?  What did you think? 

Gratitude - Sept 24

+ a quick Vegas trip over the weekend
+ delicious brunch at bouchon.  I got moules frites and he got chicken and waffles, pictured above.
+ french macaron and chocolate eclair from bouchon bakery
+ getting a luxurious facial that has left my skin looking better than ever (seriously.)
+ my wonderful other half that planned the whole thing :)

Hope you all have a nice weekend.  I don't have much planned other than some secret projects in the works ;) 

How to feel miserable as an artist

 

by Keri Smith via Gala Darling

Mojave

(please click to view larger)

 This past weekend we went on a little trip to Las Vegas to celebrate our anniversary.  I always manage to forget my camera, but not this time.  I often hear from friends that they hate the drive over because all you see is a bunch of nothing, but I love it.  It's so calming to drive through the desert and see all the rocks, mountains, tumble weeds, joshua trees, sand... And as corny as this will sound (going to embarrass myself here) I actually started to cry a little.  Not because it was gorgeous, but because I just can't understand why anyone would want to trash a place like this.  Maybe if people knew about all the beautiful places there were in the world everyone would stop creating so much waste, stop throwing their trash and cigarette buds out their windows, stop using disposable everything, etc etc. 

These photos have really inspired me to take more (local, budget friendly) trips outdoors. I am trying to figure out a quick weekend trip to Big Sur next month; I'll let you know how it goes!

Gratitude - Sept 17

(garden roses)

Such a exciting and busy week! So much going on that I've been taking mandatory naps. (Except that I just had an Inception-like dream today)  Here are some highlights from the week:

+ Creative, inc. book party at Urbanic! So great to go down to Abbot Kinney. The food trucks were out, perused pretty papers, and we got to meet Joy and Meg! And of course, they were as sweet as could be.
+ Big Wave by Jenny and Johnny.  I've had this song on repeat for days now.  Her voice is just perfect.
+ Getting a new iMac. Love. 
+ Exciting news that I'm not sure I could/should share just yet... :)
+ Leaving for Vegas tomorrow!

New

So... I bought a new computer! This purchase has been in the works for a number of years, and on Sunday morning I woke up and decided, "Today is the day." I've been using a 6 year old iBook (not macbook!), so needless to say this is extremely exciting for me! I am in awe of the brightness and colors of the screen, how many windows I can have open and still see everything (goodbye 1024x786!) and how FAST adobe cs5 opens! I really could go on and on. It's taking a little getting used to because I'm much more efficient now. Hopefully this mean more photos being edited, uploaded (because I just got a Flickr pro account too), and more blogging and working in general! 

Anyway, I thought I'd take a quick snap of my desk that's gotten messy already.  So many envelopes underneath my computer! It's a pretty bad photo but I really like how the reflection of my window is in focus instead of the subject itself.  Also, check out my awesome Sian Keegan dog portrait :)

Gratitude - Sept 10

San Francisco, May 2008

This week, in a nutshell, was just amazing. And I still have the weekend to enjoy! It's times like these I feel very fortunate for everything in life. I'll stop with the cheesiness and just list some tidbits from the week.

+ Jewelry making class.  Even though it's 3 hours long right after a full shift at work, it's so incredibly fun and relaxing.  Our first project isn't the most exciting for me, but it's very refreshing to make something with my hands.
+ I woke up to the nicest e-mail I've received in a very long time!  Her words were so heart warming and encouraging that I literally hopped right out of bed due to excitement. (If you're reading this, you know who you are!)
+ Being chosen as employee of the month.  Okay, so I don't really talk about my day job here too much, but I was recently promoted and I'm really enjoying it.  I get to order in cool products and have a moderate amount of freedom in merchandising items.  Just this week, our store manager (I work at a book store) announced that I was chosen as the employee of the month.  Part of me knows it's just a cheesy corporate thing they do to boost morale, but the other part of me is happy that my work is appreciated. Plus I get a prize!  

+ Gloomy weather.  LA cooled down a bit this week to the mid 60s, low 70s.  The sun was hiding and I enjoyed every moment of it.  But now the sun is back and the temps are rising back to the 90s tomorrow. I love grey, overcast weather; it makes me appreciate the sunny days even more. 

This weekend I have lots of work on my plate, including getting screens burned for some screen printing, ordering stationery supplies, and trying out some new jewelry designs I've been working on. I'm hoping to squeeze in some leisure too, like a picnic or a visit to the natural history museum.  What are your plans for the weekend? 

City Hall

My Labor Day was spent hanging around City Hall. Most outdoor areas were filled with people since it was a holiday, but the one place I knew would be empty were any government buildings. My hometown has lots of beautiful architecture scattered all over the place. I remember the first time I came here. I was in high school and it was night time. I couldn't believe that such a beautiful building existed where I lived! There's also a nice church across the street but I didn't get any photos.
Anyway, here is another outfit post. I originally started off wearing a pink top, cream skirt, and lilac hat but felt too spring time! I'm so ready for darker colors and cooler weather.  I received this romper as a birthday gift.  I've never even tried a romper on but I really do enjoy wearing this one! I get to try out two trends in one outfit: tie dye and a one piece. My family and I went to Koreatown for Korean BBQ afterwards so the elastic waist came in handy ;)

hat, ring: forever 21. romper: gift. handbag: DNTX. shoes: j.crew. necklace: for me, for you.

Current Work and Future Goals

Hello!  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and if you're in the U.S. that you're having a nice Labor Day. I've been a bit busy lately.  Here's a sampling of what I've been working on: trying out necklace designs, practicing packaging orders, and some thank you cards with doily envelope liners.

September is going to be a busy month for me.  I've decided to set some pretty big goals and I'm determined to complete them!  Hopefully posting them here will be as a reminder and hold me accountable.

September Goals:
1. complete website
2. create cohesive design for blog and etsy shop
3. open etsy shop
4. apply for unique LA craft show

The last one is the biggest one and also the driving reason for the other goals.  I have been talking about opening a shop for quite a while now, over two years!  I have tons of papers and sketchbooks with different designs and it's about time I stop procrastinating, stop worrying about perfection, and just do it already.  I'm very self conscious about my work which keeps me from feeling confident and putting it out there.  But no more excuses!

Glitzerland

Loving this nail polish...OPI's Glitzerland from their Swiss collection. (Get it? Glitzerland? It took me a while, hah.) It's like I dipped my fingers into silvery gold liquid.  Which I guess I sorta did.