Lavender Kay

Happy Friday!   I am so happy it’s Friday!  This weekend couldn’t come soon enough for me this week!  I am excited for tomorrow because my in-laws will be visiting for the day, and it will be so fun to see some familiar faces!  I made a reservation for our favorite restaurant so it will be fun to show them around town!

Do you guys remember this post about my upcoming DIY project?  Well, I plan to release that project on Monday, and I can’t wait for you guys to see it!  I think you will really like it!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  Here are a few fun things from around the web:

If you missed my post yesterday, here is a link to some awesome craft nights

These cupcakes look SO yummy

Cute gold party idea for award season

(balloon image, via)

Hello!  Today I wanted to tell you guys about the cool craft nights Oh Happy Day is doing at her studio.  It is no secret that Oh Happy Day is one of my favorite blogs, and that I think she is the master at craft making!  I just love her modern, bright colored style!  And, I think that it is fabulous that she is hosting craft nights in her studio!

She is located in San Francisco so I can’t attend them, (although, I REALLY want to!) but if any of you are in currently in San Fran, you should check out this link.  The link will take you to her post on their first craft night event, and the next two dates are at the bottom of the post.  They are free to attend I think they would be a blast!

Also, I wanted to thank you for all your encouraging posts yesterday!  I really appreciated it!

Happy Thursday!

(image, via)

Hi friends!  How is your week going?  This has been a really busy week for me, full of art projects and checklists.  I know it is only Wednesday, but I am really ready for the weekend!  Anyone else feel like that?

One of the reasons why this week has been so crazy is because we had our first critique in my level two drawing class.  Lets just say, it was not my favorite experience.  Making art is such a vulnerable experience, and I don’t think I was quite ready for my entire class to have an opinion about it.

To be honest, I came home that day feeling pretty defeated.  Later that night I had a good talk with my husband, and he reminded me that I am not making art for anyone else other than myself.  He encouraged me to learn from the experience, and become a stronger person because of it.  And, I think he is right!

I need to remember to be brave!  This is MY year of art, and I want to do everything I can to become a better, stronger person as a result.  So, here’s to being brave!

Happy Wednesday friends!

Good morning!  How are you all doing today?  How is your week going?  My week is going good, but I am finding that is is hard to get back into the swing of things.  Anyone else feel that way?  I am excited for all of my classes, and I am excited to get to work on my goals for the year, but it all feels a little daunting too.  There is just so much I want to accomplish before we move to Milwaukee. This year in Oregon has goon by so fast, and it is hard to believe we only have 5 and a half months left!

As, I said before, Jonathan and I went on a really cool hike over the weekend.  You can’t really tell from the picture but we are up really high.  There is this amazing forrest behind our apartment with tons of trails, and it is a great way to be in nature in a short amount of time.

We have found that getting outside and walking/hiking has done amazing things for our mental health.  This is something I MUST remember throughout my life because no matter how I am feeling, if I get outside and walk, I always feel better!  It is also a great time for good conversation.  Jonathan and I always have fun talking about life and the future as we tromp through the forrest (or neighborhood)!

So, I highly recommend taking a quick break from your day and walking.  You can walk anywhere as long as it is outside, and I promise, it will feel good!  And, it is a great way to explore your city!

Have a great day!

Good afternoon friends!  Today is my first day back to school which required me to get up super early this morning!  Now, as my day carries on, all I can think about is my cozy bed!  I found the above picture online the other night and I just love it.  I love the rustic, exposed brick walls along with the high ceilings and big windows.  And, that headboard!  Isn’t it fabulous!  This room is very urban/industrial, and I really like it!

My new classes are renewing my passion for design, and I am excited to dive into new projects this winter!  I am also excited to share with you all the fun things I learn along the way.

Happy Monday!

(image via)

It’s Friday!  This has been a busy week, making me extra excited for the weekend!  Jonathan and I are planning an epic hike with cozy scarfs and warm drinks.  We figured some fresh air and exercise would do us some good after the holidays.

I am also getting really excited for next week because I start up with my classes again!  This quarter I am taking Illustrator and Photoshop, Indesign, Drawing 2 and Color and Composition.  I  can’t wait!  As I shared earlier this week in my goal post, one of my major goals this year is to work diligently on a design portfolio.  I plan to design all my assignments with this in mind so that I can work to include them in my portfolio.  If you have any suggestions for creating a design portfolio, I would love to hear them!

Happy Friday friends!

Here are a few fun things from around the web:

Amazing Nutella cinnamon rolls

Directions for fabulous party hats (Like the one I made for NYE!)

Sequin DIYs I really want to try

I want to go to one of these blogshop classes soooo bad!

(image via)

Here are a few instagrams from our holiday festivities.  Jonathan and I had such a wonderful time celebrating Christmas with each other in Corvallis as well as with our fabulous families in Washington.  And, one of our favorite parts about visiting our families is getting to see all our sweet nieces and nephews!

The above and below photos are of our Christmas tree in Corvallis.  What can I say, I LOVE wrapping presents and decorating for Christmas!

This year, we decided to spend Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas day with Jonathan’s.  I am happy to say, it ended up working out great!  We had so much fun spending the day relaxing with my family and putting together this epic puzzle!

The above photo is the beautiful Christmas table Jonathan’s mom put together for the family!  It was amazing!

Above is sweet baby Hallie and below is my cute niece, Elsie, who turns 1 today!  Happy Birthday Elsie!

We spent New Years Eve in Corvallis with some good friends, and we had a wonderful time!  I made this party hat for the festivities!   And, the below picture is of our fabulous friend, Edie, and her super cute New Years costume!

We had such a wonderful vacation visiting family and friends!  I miss them already!  But, it also feels good to be home.  I am ready to start working hard toward my goals this year, and I am looking forward to starting up school again!

Happy New Years!

Happy New Year!  It is 2013!  I hope you all had fun ringing in the new year last night!  We had fun celebrating at a friends house in Corvallis.  I made a sweet party hat that I wore all night, and it was inspired by this.

Cheers to this fabulous new year!

(image via)

Happy NYE my dear friends!  I am back to blogging just in time to ring in the New Year!  I am sorry for my unexpected blogging break.  I had planned a couple posts for this last week, but traveling, family, Christmas and no internet got the best of me.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that life happens.

New Years is a great time for reflection so I thought I would share with you a few goals I have for the New Year.  I am so excited for 2013, and all the excitement that comes with it!  Here are a few of my goals for two thousand thirteen!

1. One of my biggest goals for the New Year is to work diligently on a design portfolio.  We will be moving again in 5 1/2 months to Milwaukee, and lately I have been giving a lot of thought to what I would like to do there.  And, what I really what to do is design!  I am not sure what jobs will be available in Milwaukee, but I would like to have a killer portfolio ready when I get there!

2. Organize, Organize, Organize!  Everyone probably says this, but I really what to organize my life.  Every single part of it!  Since our move date is getting closer and closer, I would really like to make that move as seamless as possible.  So, I want to do a major spring cleaning and get rid of all the things we don’t need and simplify our life.

3.  I want to start doing yoga again.  I miss it like crazy!

4. Another big goal I would like to tackle this year is a major re-design of my blog.  I have been brainstorming a new name for my blog for a long time, and I think I have come up with just the right one!  I am excited to share it with you, but I am not quite ready to release it yet.  It is quite the undertaking to change the name, URL and design, and to be quite honest, I have been scared to do it.  But it is a major goal of mine, and I will keep you posted as the release date gets closer!

5. Something I used to be very dedicated to was keeping a journal both for my thoughts and for my drawings.  But lately I have let this habit go.  I think it is partly because I have transitioned to blogging, but there is nothing like putting pen to paper, and I think it is important for me to get back to it.

What are some of your goals/resolutions for the New Year?

Photo Source here

Good morning dear friends!  Today I have something very random, and very amazing for you!  Well, I think it is amazing, but you may feel differently.  The other night Jonathan and I were watching youtube videos when we stumbled upon a video from a music festival in Sweden.  The band is called Swedish House Mafia, and they put on the most epic performance.  I don’t know anything about this band, but I will say, this video makes me want to dance!  I just can’t get enough of that beat!  So, I thought I would post this video for you to enjoy as well.  Hopefully it is just the pick-me-up you needed today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1y6smkh6c-0

Ps. If you are having trouble viewing the video, click the youtube icon to watch the video through the youtube website.

I would love to hear what you think of this beat/song/video?