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Crushing on…

6 Nov

Happy election day friends!  Can you believe it is finally here?  I have to say, I am relieved.  There is so much division durning an election year and I am ready to move past some of it.  And get on to the holiday season!

Today I have posted a few things I am crushing on this week.  I have my eye on these fabulous navy flats from Zara.  They would be perfect for a holiday party!  Also, I still don’t have an iphone case yet because love how the phone looks all by itself.  But, if I were to get one, I think I would get this simple one from J. Crew.

1. Navy flats from Zara 2. Dress from Ruche 3. Cozy polk-a-dot sweater from Ruche 4. Color block iphone case at J. Crew

Thank You Cards

5 Nov

Good morning!  How was your weekend?  Jonathan and I spent the weekend in Newport, Oregon with all of his family.  We rented a house and stayed close to the beach.  It was so fun to spend time with family and explore the coast.  We ate at so many good restaurants where fresh seafood was always served!  So yummy!  We also went to the aquarium where all my cute nieces and nephews went crazy over all the sea animals.  Who am I kidding, I went crazy over them too!  The sea otter is just sooo cute.

Today I am so excited to show you the fun thank you cards I designed for my sister (ps. isn’t this picture by Ben Blood perfection?!).  We decided to take one of the Christmas card designs and adapt it to a thank you card.  I am so happy with how they turned out so I wanted you to get to see them too.  This also helps to show that you can take any design and adapt the colors and wording to your own style.  Enjoy!

Happy Monday!  I hope you have a wonderful day!

Shout out // Kinfolk Magazine

2 Nov

Hi friends!  Do you remember the post I did a couple days ago where I spoke about the fabulous magazine, Kinfolk?  Well, I thought I would post a video created by Kinfolk promoting their magazine.  They have created more videos since this one but I wanted to show it to you because I think it does a great job of capturing the essence of Kinfolk.  Their design is amazing and I think what they are doing is a beautiful thing.  There is something magical about eating together, and that is why I think what they are doing with Kinfolk is so powerful.   Enjoy!

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/25849670]

 

What did you think?

Video from VsTheBrain on Vimeo

November Desktop Calendar

1 Nov

I have two new desktop calendars for you today.  Because it is November!  Crazy!  I thought it would be fun if you had a choice of which colors you liked best.  (And because I had a hard time deciding!)

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween.  Jonathan and I went out for dinner with some people from his work.  We had a great time, and appreciated the opportunity to meet people.  Happy November friends!

Which do you like best?

To download, click on the picture you like and then when the image shows up in a new window, right click and choose desktop background.

Happy Halloween

31 Oct

Happy Halloween friends!  I hope you have a wonderful day!  I plan to celebrate with a pumpkin spice late and some yummy chocolate.  What are your favorite Halloween traditions?

Photo Source here

Crushing on…

30 Oct

Hello!  Tomorrow is Halloween, and I am so excited!  What are you dressing up as for Halloween?  I think I am going to be a ballerina again this year (I am a ballerina almost every year because wearing the tutu makes me so happy!).

Here are a few things I am crushing on today.  Have any of you heard of the Kinfolk magazine before?  It’s fabulous!  It is a collaboration made by many talented designers and creative folk who have a shared interest in beautiful small gatherings and tasty food.  Check it out!  Also, I just love this pretty blouse by Madewell.

1. Love this blouse by Madewell 2. The enchanting Kinfolk Magazine Vol. Four 3. Cute pillow from West Elm

Hello Monday!

29 Oct

Good morning friends!  How was your weekend?  Our weekend was a pretty rainy, but it was also fabulous.  I finished all my drawing projects which feels good!  And we had a great time celebrating Fall and watching movies.  We went to see Cloud Atlas (staring Tom Hanks!) on Friday.  Have you seen it?  If so, what did you think?

Every once in awhile, from now until Christmas, I thought I would highlight different Christmas cards from my collection for you to see.  I thought it would be fun to explain my thoughts behind the designs and also show you how other people decided to use my cards to make them their own.  Today I am going to start with my Rustic card design.  This card is quite different from all the other designs, but I like how it is unique.  Lately, I have been drawn to modern design and for this specific card, I liked how it combined modern with wilderness.

To view more designs click here.

Happy Monday!

Happy Friday

26 Oct

Happy Friday dear friends!  It’s almost the weekend!  I am so thankful it is Friday because it has been a crazy couple weeks and I am ready for the weekend.  I finished my last midterm yesterday and today I plan to work hard on a couple drawing projects for my portfolio due on Monday.  By the end of the weekend my hands will probably look like this.  Well, at least I hope so because it will mean I have created something!

In other news, Corvallis and OSU’s symphony are putting together a Halloween with Harry Potter performance on Sunday and I am SO excited for it!  Tons of Halloween and Harry Potter symphony music – what could be better!  What are your weekend plans?  I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Here are a couple fun links:

Cutest kid’s snail costume DIY from Oh Happy Day

Fun Halloween cake decorations

Some really amazing coats.  I LOVE the second one

*Photo source here

Thoughts on running

25 Oct

Hi friends!  How are you today?  Can you believe it is almost Halloween?!  Time is just flying by!

I have been giving a lot of thought to running lately.  Do you run?  Do you like it?  I have never been a runner.  Actually, I have never done very much exercise at all.  I just don’t like it – I know, that sounds terrible!

But, lately (well, ever since we moved to Oregon) I have made a goal for myself to run six days a week.  SIX!  That seems crazy!  The reason I decided to go from not exercising, to running every day was actually because of a conversation I had with my husband.  I was telling him that I just don’t know what everyone is talking about when they say they like running.  I mean, how can you really like running?!  And he told me that it was because I had never ran consistently before.  We talked about it for awhile and it all started to click for me.  Because I only run sometimes, my body can never keep up or stay fit because I lose everything I am working for every time I take a few days off (or in my case, months!).

Now I should clarify, I only run about a mile every day and I only go at the pace my body can handle.  I hope to work my way up to two miles but I definitely don’t run long distances and I am not fast.  And, I am very ok with that.  I think everyone is different.  We like different things and our bodies can handle different strains.  I also think that running every day isn’t for everyone.  One, it is really hard to find the time and two, you might not like/want to.  And I think that is great too.

And I am sure you guys are all dying to ask, now do I like running?  Well, I am about three months into my running challenge and I would say I like running more than I used to.  I don’t love it by any means but I definitely like it more. But one thing I will say, I have noticed a major improvement in my mood and health.  And this is something that is very important to me.

But, sometimes it is still really hard to get our there and run.  Especially as the weather gets colder.  I am trying to figure out how to stay motivated.  Any tips?  I did go out and buy some awesome running pants and those help a little!

I wanted to share all this because this has been another big part of my journey in moving to a new city.  Running has been a big step in my process of becoming more me.  And even in my year of art.  I believe all our experiences are different and I would love to hear your comments on exercise.  What kind of exercise do you like, if any?

Thank you for listening friends!  Now I am headed for a quick run, hopefully.

Photo source here

Crushing on…

24 Oct

Here are a few things I have my eye on!  When the weather turns cold one of the first things I feel like I need to stock up on is cute tights.  And I definitely like all the prints this year.  Also, one of my must have fall accessories is long mittens.  That way I can still wear a three quarter length sweater and stay warm when I am outside.  What do you think of these ombrè ones from Anthropologie?

1. Ruche tights 2. Clutch purse from J. Crew 3. Arm warmers from Anthropologie 4. Coat from J. Crew