Don't give up the ship!

He was a beast of a man.

Our common good should come first.

Director of all things important.

Your wish is my command.

She sucked the light out of the sun.

Photos taken randomly from the last week or so.

My homemade invites.

Micaela is having a baby, that's right! And so I thought I would hand-make her baby shower invites. All was good until I realized I sent out 40 or so of my creations to her close family and friends with her name spelled incorrectly! The only saving grace was that her mother didn't notice and I did ask Micaela to proof read what I wrote. C'est la vie! I got the purple paper from Paper Source and had my friend photoshop Micaela and her husband's photo. Her colors for her baby girl are purple and teal. I had different color purples and different color ribbon (as I ran out of various ribbon). I used the ribbon to tie together the velum with shower details and the purple card with their baby photos. Oh how I love stationary.

Down in the dumps....an update

So I didn't pass the foreign service exam, didn't get the job, didn't win the lottery, didn't....just didn't. Needless to say I haven't been the happiest of bunnies so I contacted a career counselor at my father's behest. I have a meeting next week. I also organized a few friendly plans for the next few days to take my mind of things. I am off to Bar Basics tonight. And then I am meeting another friend at Mua Friday.

I found these photos which make me happy (very vintage and California-ish) by Jen Zahigian on Design is mine a favorite blog of mine, go check it out.

I've also been writing again, slowly, oh so slowly and I found some great music, Tindersticks, Zero 7, Tempertrap, just to name a few, which I am excited to burn and share. I've got to post my photos too, of my lovely little invite and my paint job on my mother's dresser (it didn't really work out, but oh well).

Straight up now tell me.....

I make fun of my neighbor Debra because she likes a few shows that I would never go near, like American Idol, but last night she forced me (yes forced me) to watch Andrew Garcia do his acoustic rendition of Paula Abdul's, 'Straight up now tell me' on the show and it was great! I wonder why no other artist has ever re-made Paula's song?!

Buttons Galore

I have a little secret, I am in love with BUTTONS. I don't have many, but when I find loose ones or a big box full of them at a flea market I secretly go berserk inside. I used to carry around a few in my pocket, if ever one should need an extra. I like different ones....ones with a stripe or crazy heart design, those really get me because I always wonder how can such lovely goodness, such a nice design, be so small!? How can one make such a tiny thing so pretty?!

I've been wanting to make a garland out of a few buttons I have, but after a search on some of my favorite design blogs I found some other ideas for button creations.

Design sponge just posted a DIY project on how to have your buttons (or scraps of paper) as display art.



Martha Stewart uses buttons to make stamps, beautiful photo, great idea, but I wouldn't want to ruin any of them with ink!



Finally, Craftzine suggests button rings and they are so easy to make!

The Uniform Project

How original and inventive do you have to be to wear the same dress,only adding pieces you've been given or recycled, making it look cool and fashion forward each day for one year?! I say, VERY. Sheena Matheiken has succeeded so far in wearing the same dress or the same style dress (she has seven) every day to bring awareness to fashion sustainability. All of the donations to her website go to Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots non-profit founded in Mumbai in 1990 through the volunteered efforts of college students devoted to bringing education to children living in the slums. She only has till May, you go Sheena! It really makes one think about what is in ones closet! Take a look at all of her styles and the project here: the Uniform Project.

Just Beachy

See below for a little video of Noelle and I's jaunt to Half Moon bay, 30 minutes from home, on the California coast. Thinking the weather was iffy, we didn't put on the sunscreen, we ended up a bit crispy, funny how that happens. It was a beautiful day.

Ignore my hair!

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Daycation one and two!

My cousin Julie and her husband had the week off so she forced us (my cousin Katie and I) to spend a wonderful time with her in Livermore at the vineyards there (maybe my new favorite wine country) and yesterday we took a drive down the coast to Big Sur. It was great weather, it has been raining here so when we saw the weather report called for sun we thought we should go for it. We tried to go on a couple of hikes, but as it is technically still winter, the creek was too high and trees were left blocking the trails (I wondered also if it was because of failed funds and lack of resources for our national parks). It was beautiful all the same.
It's nice to rediscover California.

Enjoying the fruits of Concannon winery.


In Big Sur, by the rising river.


Sisters on top of the world.


Trying to find balance in the forest.


Scream it out to sea!