new blog location

i've been obsessed with pencils lately

I was thinking as a leave behind for my upcoming review...

From: Left | Middle | Right

elephants just make me happy

Did you know we use the word 'Jumbo' to describe large things because it was the name of one of Barnum's elephants?

Photo from here.

in defense of my food-heavy instagram feed

 

anatomy of a birthday box

My mother sends some pretty strange care packages. Not strange in a bad way; quite the opposite in fact! I caught her at the grocery store right before she sent it so I was loaded up with all the random items I was running out of in addition to all the birthday goodies she was sending.

Two boxes came within the same week and I do not get mail easily at my apartment. My mailman is not the most proactive deliverer, therefore, I have to anticipate his arrival and track down anything larger than my mail slot. I got to know my mailman quite well this week!

Pixar stamps
White cake mix and frosting – my fave!
Contact solution
Filter for my water pitcher – I'm TERRIBLE about changing those
Peanut butter – she singlehandedly keeps me stocked with pb
Candles – for the cake
Coffee – lots of it!
Butterfingers
A bag of mini snickers
1 box of thin mint Girl Scout cookies
A bag of chocolate chips
A bag of Reese's peanut butter chips
Cheez-its
Toothpaste
Soap
Band-aids
Neosporin
Ibuprofen
Paper towels
BIRTHDAY PRESENTS!!!

Now that was just box one. Box two was a little stranger. I can only assume that she just started loading it with random stuff at a certain point to fill it up.

Another box of thin mint Girl Scout cookies
Lofthouse sugar cookies
Lettuce wrap sauce – ???
A large can of olive oil
Lysol wipes
Peanut butter
Buttons
Chocolate chips
Granola bars
Peanut butter M&Ms
Random make-up samples
Dried mushrooms – ???
Crispy caramel apple chips

I'm not sure what this list says about me?

happy valentine's day!

(This is the valentine I sent out this year.)

introverts are underrated

I read the cover story of the most recent TIME Magazine just one day after having a discussion with some fellow design students about the positive and negatives of introvert and extrovert personalities in our field of study. This really resonated with me because back in my undergrad one of my professors was adamant that introverts could not succeed in our industry because of the necessity for self-promotion and constant client interaction. In this class we also took a questionnaire that gauged our societal tenancies and I remember falling smack dap in the range of introvert and feeling momentarily panic-stricken. Was I headed into a career in which I was destined to fail?

However, I quickly recovered and realized that this was not news to me. I've always known that I am more a listener than a talker, that I have my limits with it comes to socializing, and that hiding in the bathroom for a moment to myself (like the author of the TIME article describes) is an experience that I can relate to.

The article hits the nail on the head when it talks of the challenges introverts face in today's world where everything revolves around the loud and the talkative. However, I feel my skills as an introvert are often overlooked. My introvertness is often misinterpreted as shyness, or worse, snobbery, and I get the question "Why are you so quiet?" pretty incessantly. Instead I am watchful, attentive and contemplative and while it took me most of my adult life to come to terms with, these are qualities that I appreciate in myself.

Another point the article focused on was the ability of introverts to fake extrovert-ness in some situations. Prior to reading this I thought my ability to do this just made me a little confused but who would have guessed that this is just one of many ways we introverts adapt to our environment. We can BE extroverts, but only for a short amount of time before we're exhausted and ready to turn our attention back to the good book we left at home.

So what does this mean for my future as a designer? I think it just means that I'll no longer feel guilty for rewarding myself with a night in after a taxing day of charming clients, or when I find myself alone in the kitchen for a moment to myself at dinner parties, or when I bribe myself to talk to a stranger (yes, I've done that).

Image from Toothpaste for Dinner.

my day

I think my friend Jess would agree that this explains our morning perfectly. 

 Print by Wasted Rita.

books! books! books!

While my book wishlist is about 100x the size of this, these two are my current faves. I have been monopolizing The 3D Type Book from the school library and finally had to give in and return it and haven't been able to get it back. I figure that makes it worth owning, right?
I wasn't initially very interested in the Design*Sponge book but Grace Bonney spoke at SCAD last week and all the photos caught my eye.

Design*Sponge at Home by Grace Bonney, The 3D Type Book

science is cool

From Every Day is Science Friday

how cool is this

I originally saw this here along with her amazing tutorial. I think this is the perfect counterpart to the increasing trend of feather extensions that I've been seeing. I love the idea of the feather style but I've heard some alarming information about how they get the feathers that have made me hesitant to join in. I was instantly enamored with this colorful alternative. Can't you just imagine one or two streaks in the front or under layer?  And like she says, you can easily hide the streak in a bun because it is just the ends of the hair. I would love to try this but the bleaching part slightly terrifies me (in addition to her warnings about seeking professional assistance). We'll see how brave I am!

so neglectful

I'm just going to pretend that I haven't been absent for over a month.

I'm a few weeks into my summer quarter classes and one is a typography class. We take a very hands on approach to learning letterforms!

I had a shaky beginning...

This lovely f was my greatest accomplishment!

amazing buildings

Can you imagine the pressure of choosing the titles that make up this architectural bookshelf. This is a library I would visit regularly.

From Interior Holic

new adventure!

Image from Pinterest.

tough days need cute animals

A cute animal can fix everything. Most days my fish do a pretty good job but sometimes you need something with fur. Since I don't have a pup of my own, I settle for looking at pictures. My favorite two that always manage to cheer me up.

Both from pinterest. Kitten and Pups.

the big 2-5

I'm not one for making or keeping New Year resolutions but I like having overall goals for myself. As my birthday looms I've been focusing more on what I'd like to achieve in my 25th year. I took a page out the books of some of my favorite bloggers and created a "25 before 26" list that will keep my goals visible.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Idea from A Beautiful Mess.

jimmy stewart and grace kelly ride a bike

From this great tumblr.

merely contemplating...

Please excuse this random couple, I am using them as a prop. Though they are lovely, really only the girl is important. I found them as I was perusing Oh, Darling's photography blog. I am rather protective of my long hair (it's a slow grower) but seeing this short little bob made me think how nice short hair might be. Hmm...

the coffee cup

I've always loved the iconic NYC coffee cup.

Buy here.

bike season!

I feel like bikes have been all the talk lately with me and my co-workers, maybe it's the arrival of beautiful weather that has us all yearning to bring them out of hibernation. Though I already own two bikes, if I were ever in the market for a #3, I found her.

Urban Outfitters has partnered with Republic Bike and allows you to customize their single speed Aristotle bikes to whatever color and size your heart desires.