blueprint...where are you going???

i just heard the news. martha stewart is discontinuing blueprint. i'm certainly not happy about this. i love that magazine and i was just getting ready to order a subscription for next year. not only does it contain wonderful things in its pages, but it's designed so well! the graphics are creative and wonderful! martha! why do you forsake me?!? ok, that was a smidge on the melodramatic side...but i'm disappointed none the less. i guess i'll just have to get my fill through bluelines...it doesn't feel as satisfying though. :(

ice, ice, and more ice

i don't remember if i've mentioned in previous posts, but in july i moved to the northeastern part of oklahoma from texas. we are fortunate to be living in one of the few neighborhoods in town that has power. at this point, there's not ice on the roads (with the exception of the bridges) but there's ice everywhere else. our house is brand new so there are no trees in our yard (there's a field behind us with trees), but many of our neighbor's trees have split right down the middle like a banana peel in their front yard. these broken limbs are doing damage not only to houses, but also to power lines.

i have a lot of family up here and some of them have power, some don't but we're all taking care of each other. my heart goes out to those with no power that don't have a place to go. keep warm and i hope your power comes back soon. in the mean time, here's some images of our frozen land:

oh massimo...

so we were watching some of the helvetica film in several of my design classes and denny (my design prof) was flipping through some of the extras. there was one with massimo vignelli and he was bitching about "flower children". it was so freakin hilarious! he was basically saying that back in the sixties and seventies, america had done everything right (up to the vietnam war of course) and that while he understood that hippies were reacting against the war, he basically felt they were everything that was wrong in the world. of course now, america does a lot of things wrong and he said he wished bush would just go back to texas. um, hello...we don't want him either. anyways, it was just funny how he was calling them flower children and bums "who just lay on the sidewalk".
erik spiekermann was funny too. he basically said he'd rather look at type than "girl's bottoms". he said he can't even read a magazine if he doesn't know what font it is. you know, i really love graphic design and typography but i don't think i'll ever be that obsessed with type. at least, i really hope i won't. i do love me some helvetica though. it's certainly not my favorite font, but it's in my top three favorite sans-serif fonts. anyways, it's fun to watch the type fanatics talk about helvetica. well, for me it is at least.

oh, by the way, yes...massimo vignelli is brilliant (and he knows it) but for the love of god, someone please tell me he needs to trim those furry creatures growing over his eyes! at least get those two big hairs in the middle.

i love this blog!

i am in love with bluelines. it's the blog for blueprint magazine if you're not familiar, which is a branch of the martha stewart magazine family. i also love martha stewart. i mean, we all know she's a scary, scary, biotch, but she's totally awesome. aaannnddd....she's not even trying to hide her biotchiness on her show. she's snippy with her guests sometimes and when she calls for the people in the back kitchen they scurry around like scared little mice. it's awesome! anyhooo, look what i found on bluelines:

bembos zoo

chris natrop

kako ueda

awesome, right?

way past due...

I've finally updated my blogroll. I've added some of my super duper favorites over the past months. And they are...(drumroll please)....

Black Eiffel: this is a gorgeous blog and I LOVE the name!

3191: a beautiful photo blog with an interesting concept. See for yourself.

{frolic!} tons of design/arts eye candy :)

swissmiss: oooo! more design eye candy! and she usually posts neat things several times a day so there's always lots of new things to look at.

ilovetypography: fun and informative

and of course, here's a short list of my all times favs:

dooce: ya just gotta love Heather.

decor8: Holly is the undisputed blog queen of eyecandy.

m.writes: marta's blog is elegant, insightful, and inspirational.

Sto viaggiando in Italia!

Montone

Oh, my goodness, it has been way to long since I posted something! Well, I have some exciting news...my school is planning a trip to Italy this summer. It's for college credit and it's a month long. First there was some concern that enough people might not sign up. Then about a week and a half ago Gary (the head of the fine arts dept) told me that there are enough people and it is going to happen. So, I was happy to hear that but there was still the matter of me coming up with the $4500 for the tuition or whatever you want to call it plus a couple thousand more probably for various expenses while I'm there. I mean...I want to have a freaking awesome time! That and not all meals are covered. So, I went to my financial aid office and discovered that I still had $4000 dollars in student aid left! All I had to do was sign a piece of paper and boom! I've got a huge chunk of my trip paid for! Now, it is in loan form, so I have to pay it back when I graduate, but I'm of the mind that it's totally freaking worth it! Now, it's real. Now I know that it's actually going to happen. I'm just so freaking psyched!

Trevi Fountain, Rome

Florence

If you don't know what this is, for the love of god, pick up a book.

So! The first place we're going is Rome. You know...the Eternal City...Sistine Chapel...Pantheon...Colosseum...square one for one of the greatest civilizations that ever existed...the MFing Renaissance! I mean...come on! We're spending a couple days there then off to Fiorenze! Ah, Florence...I personally cannot wait to see all the treasures that this wonderful cities holds. Then we're spending the next three weeks taking art classes in a little village in Umbria called Montone. Oh my gosh...I cannot even believe this is all going to happen. I've been dreaming about it since I was a little girl. I used to read books on classical antiquity and I have always been fascinated by Greco-Roman mythology.

I have a lot to do to get ready for it all including getting my passport. But, I'll apply for that within the next month so I should be fine. Also, I have offically started my weight loss/get in shape program. It includes exercise at the gym 3 times a week and also just being more active overall. There's a nature trail at my school so I've been going there to walk once or twice a week with my sister (who has also been coming to the gym with me). And I've almost eliminate soda (I had a coke zero tonight but it's the first time in...two or three weeks I've had one), gotten rid of most white flour, eating more fruits and veg...and so on. It's going pretty good too. I'm definitely feeling better. I want to be in shape so I'm able to trek all over Rome and Florence. And Montone means mountain in Italian. So there will be trekking there as well.

Anyways, as you can see I'm very excited and I will post more as I find more out. I think we're having an orientation at the school in the next couple weeks. Oh! and there's a "learn Italian" cd set up at the public library that I'm going to check out so I'm not completely out of my element when I get there. This is so freaking exciting! As you may have assumed, over the next few months, there will be a lot of posts about Italy. If any of you have traveled to Italy or live there and would like to share some experiences, I would love to hear them!

Life is like a box of chocolates...

I feel like I am on the verge of depression or anxiety or something. Overall I try to be pretty positive about life...or at least realistic. Normally the outlook I have is this: "Okay, I have some negative things in my life (health problems, dealing with divorced parents, money problems), but those are just things that I have to deal with. Everyone has some issues that affect them negatively and somehow you just move on and try to enjoy life as much as you can. Take joy in the little things because despite what TV/Movies would have you believe, they are the things that truly count. The grand gestures don't come around that often so you have to find a way to make life joyful."

But, as of the last week or so, my various issues (which all end up being related in one sort or another) have been really getting to me. Then this evening as I was taking a shower (a good place to pontificate) I realized that I need a plan(s). While I can't get rid of my health problems I can make them better by losing some weight. So I need a plan for that. Now, I've lost weight before (pre-rheumatoid arthritis) so I know I can do it again. It will be harder, but shit, life is hard.

As for the money issues....well, that's a much tougher problem to solve. See, both of my parents are bad with money. My dad is certainly worse than my mom, but all my life, all I've seen is poor spending habits and wrong financial decisions. My grandmother (who has done very well) told me to save, save, save. But I have never really known how to do that. I might save a little bit and then something comes up and the money is gone again. But, this is not an unsolvable problem. I can't cure my RA but I can cure my money problems. This will lower my stress and that will lessen the symptoms of my RA, so it helps all the way around.

Now, because I personally have no experience in managing money properly, I must turn to someone else who can help guide me. I have thought about taking a personal finance class at school, but worry that spending hundreds of dollars in student loans on a class to help me learn how to manage money is redundant. Perhaps not though; perhaps the payoff will be much greater than the initial investment. My other thought is that my dad's girlfriend (who is wonderful) is an accountant. While it is unlikely that she will be able to turn my dad's money woes around, perhaps she could help me a little with mine. At least point me in the right direction. I certainly don't want to place all of my eggs in her basket though.

Well, either way I feel a little bit better venting about this and also putting it into type. If any of you out in the blogosphere have had similar problems and have turned your life around, let me hear from you. Or even if you haven't and sympathize, you could comment on that as well.

errgh

hello all, computer has been down but should be back up and running this weekend....

Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty

If you haven't seen this yet, I think it's important that you do. I think the video speaks for itself.

The Notorious T.I.G.

I created this for my animation class. It's cut paper animation. It's certainly a lot easier than traditional cell animation, but it still takes quite a bit of work and attention to detail. This is the first one I've done so there are a couple things wrong with it, but overall I'm very pleased; especially with the ending :D

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I have been quite the busy girl lately. And, although I have been tired and I've had some late nights trying to get homework projects done on time, I really enjoy it for the most part. I think that's a good preview of the future, except that I'll be back out on my own and I'll be making more money. Anyway, this weekend is a treat because I get to go home and see my mom and my other sister and friends in Texas. Although the flying will be tiring (anymore it's just a giant pain in the rear), I think the weekend will be quite enjoyable.

There will most certainly be a trip to La Cantera (the most awesome shopping center in the history of ever...okay that's a huge overexaggeration, but it's still great). I will get to have dinner with my dear friend Kathleen at Alamo Cafe. Also, I'll probably stop in on my sister at her new job in the Border's cafe. She's a barista and will most likely be hopped up on caffeine. No...she will definitely be hopped up on caffeine.

AND I'll get to take pictures of it all with my new camera :) I'm actually really glad that I didn't end up getting the Nikon. I think this Fujifilm will suite my needs just fine and I won't have to lug around a big heavy camera. What's neat about the Fuji is that it has a video option. And the result of my first video recording with it is here. Be forewarned, it contains images of one 11 year old boy hopped up on sugar and given an audience. It might scare you.

WTF

You know...I find, as I'm sure many of you do, that life often likes to screw with me. It's nothing personal. It's screws with all of us, some more than others I suppose. I had everything all planned out to get my camera. I had decided on the type, set the money aside and then with a snap of it's cosmic fingers, life changed the course. Bills came up, plans changed. I also realized that as a student I probably don't need to be spending over a grand on a camera. I realize in the pro world, that's chump change. But I'm not pro. So, I'm going to buy this camera instead:

It's still a decent camera and it's got some bells and whistles on it, but it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg. I think that once I actually start making money after I graduate, if I really need an SLR camera, I will have a little more cash to allot. That's the theory. However, I'm sure life will inevitably throw me another curve ball. And since I don't play baseball I will either duck and it will miss me OR it will plow right into me and cause me grievouse bodily harm. That metaphor is now DEAD. And I am tired.

Next Week!

Yay! I'm finally going to get my camera! I've decided to get the Nikon D40. I'm getting the kit that has two lenses and a camera bag. I think I'm going to get it from Wolf Camera because they have an excellent extended warranty and they offer free camera cleanings with the warranty. They also offer camera classes with the purchase of the camera. There are certainly some places online that I have found to be cheaper, but they cannot match the warranty or amenities (is that the right word?) of the Wolf store. I look forward to posting photos on here with my fabulous new camera...

Me + Paint

I realized today that I haven't ever posted any of my artwork online. So I thought I'd change that. I put pictures of many of my pieces up on my Flickr account (see link to left) and I also thought I'd ad some teasers (above). Perhaps one day I'll open an Etsy shop and put some things up for sale. In fact, if you're interested in any of the pieces, let me know. I've got some more current stuff in my portfolio, I just haven't photographed it yet. By the way, even if you aren't interested in buying any of these, I welcome feedback.

new things to love

After hating on the PC the other night, I decided I want to share some love instead on this fine evening. I have found a new blog (thanks to marta) called Black Eiffel. I think this blog will be added to my short list of blogs that I read daily because it's gorgeous. It's a wonderful mix of fashion, music, design, crafty things, and beautiful photography. Also, Rachel is a fellow graphic designer. It's no wonder I was immediately drawn to her blog. Looking at Rachel and Marta's beautiful blogs makes me want to redesign mine and perhaps I will this weekend. I will also be working on this over the fin de semana:

It's a homemade journal and you can find the tutorial for it here. The moment I saw the tutorial the wheels started turning and I began to think about which papers I was going to use. This is one of the super fantastic things I found through Black Eiffel. I hope this inspires some of you as much as it did me. Enjoy!

exception to the rule...

So I just bitched excessively about PCs in general, but I happened to come across this from Steampunk and have decided to recant my statement that I hate all PCs. Instead I would like to state that I hate all PCs except this one because it is freaking awesome! If you go here, you will see how this guy revamped his Dell monitor step by step. I wish companies would start manufacturing designer computers like this. C'mon Mac, I know you like your rounded corners, but can I please have something with swirly bits on it? I know, that was harsh. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry, I love your rounded corners.

that wretched contraption

Maybe when I get my Macbook, I'll have a pc smashing session

My friends, if I don’t get a Mac soon, I’m going to go over the edge. I don’t think I can properly put into words how much I loathe Microsoft. Even once I have my beautiful new Mac at home, I will still on occasion have to work on a PC. I currently work in the library at school and I am being forced to work not only on a PC, but a PC with Office 2007, a program most assuredly designed by Satan.

They have asked me to redesign some of the pamphlets and such for the library and I was happy to oblige, but oh how I long to be working in InDesign. That longing is equally matched by my intense desire to rip this vile machine from its cords and toss it out the nearest open window. Or, better yet, through the nearest window. Glass shattering as this demon device plummets to its death below would be much more dramatic.

Fortunately, my father has agreed to help me buy a shiny new Mac around Christmas time. Of course, that will all depend upon how many checks are rolling in (my dad owns his own consulting business). Whether I have his help or not though, I will be getting a Mac soon. I have to. For my health.

Design Nerd, et al

image from iLoveTypography

I am a design nerd and therefore, love almost all things design. You might think “well ‘design’ is a vague and expansive word” and you would be right. But I stand by my statement. I think what I love most about the design is the actual process behind the finished product. The idea or creating something tactile out of a whim in your head is amazing to me. Not to sound egotistical, but I’m always amazed when I’ve created something out of a blank canvas or sheet of paper. I absolutely love watching other people create too. The whole process fascinates me.

So, lucky me, that I should be majoring in Graphic Design. Thus far, I have found the semester to be rather intriguing. I’m enjoying Typography immensely. There’s something very relaxing about studying typefaces and letters. It’s something that we so easily take for granted, especially living in this age of technology where we have 6,000 fonts readily available at our fingertips. Of course, because I am addicted to the blogosphere and all things related to it, I went in search of type (and design) related blogs.

I already knew about Typographica, but have recently found iLoveTypography, and discovered that I do, in fact, love typography. The blog is not only well laid out, but it’s also quite playful and informative. I also found FontSelf, a site will hopefully soon release its typography project that allows you to (easily) turn your own handwriting or found type, or whatever, into a bitmapped font. It’s not available yet, but they have a video showing its possibilities and also several fonts that they have created with their program. I'm looking forward to toying around with that application.

Also, I have discovered Wordpress, another blog hoster and am thinking of switching but need to look into it further, so I will post an updated url if I decide to move. I want to make sure all my loyal readers know where I'm at. All six of them.

Did you know that the most successful pirate of ALL time was a woman? Yes, that's right. I find that to be awesome! I discovered this little gem of knowledge while reading this on CNN. Actually this original article is from a magazine/site called Mental Floss. Anyways, her name was Cheng I Sao and at the height of her reign as pirate queen she had 1,500 ships and 80,000 pirates at her command! That's crazy! Seriously, read the article. Also, she didn't have the horrifying death that many pirates suffer. She was so powerful that she was able to negotiate pirate amnesty with the Chinese government for her and all but a couple hundred of her men. And they got to keep all their booty! She retired and then in 1844, she died peacefully, a 69 year old grandmother.

She's so on my list of people I admire. I was going to say "people I'd meet if I could go back in time" but a) I don't speak Chinese, and b) although I admire her for being a powerful woman in a time where that was rare, I'm thinking she wasn't the type to just sit around and chat. She might just slit your throat. Don't mess with the pirate queen.

I was hoping to find a book or something interesting to read a little more about her, but Google has not turned up much. I think I'll see if I can find something in a library database. But seriously, read the article, you'll like it and you'll learn something new. Unless you're a pirate expert. Then you probably already know.

New Opportunities

I've decided that I'm going to try a couple of different things to ad a little revenue to my life. The first of which is starting up a little Cafe Press shop. You give them your designs and decide what products you want them on and how much you want them priced and you're ready to go! Actually I'm thinking it's not that simple and I'm going to have to upgrade my shop, but this is a good start, I hope. So these are my first two designs:

both images are copyright of Jennifer Hanley (me) and may not be reproduced without my permission

I'm working on several others but don't have them finished yet. I've recently learned that my school is going to try to take a trip to Italy next summer for a month and I AM SO THERE! Except that I need to do everything I can to earn extra moola for either that or some other semester abroad. I'm also thinking of setting up an Etsy shop with some fun beaded things that I've made. Anyhooo...if you like my stuff, feel free to let me know...or...buy it. That would be nice too. Thanks!

Flying Crackheads

When we first moved in we decided it would be fun to put a hummingbird feeder outside the dining room window so we could watch the birds while we ate our meals. At first we would get very excited whenever we saw a little green flittering bird sip at the nectar. It has been over a month since we had the feeder up and I have come to this conclusion: hummingbirds are the crackheads of the avian world.

These little boogers fight constantly over the feeder. We filled the feeder up yesterday and all day there were at least 6 hummingbirds fighting over the feeder. At one point four or them reached a shaky alliance and decided they wanted the nectar more than they wanted to fight and all four of them drank at the same time. The alliance was short lived, however and they were soon chasing and spearing at each other once again.

This morning, this little female has laid claim to the feeder and has decided the best way to protect the last few precious drops is to sit on the feeder. She's had to chase off a few competitors but she's been sitting there off and on for about a half and hour. I guess it's hers now. She was eyeing me rather suspiciously as I took her photo through the window. Silly little crackhead.

He could kick your ass

This Friday, I had the pleasure of viewing The Bourne Ultimatum. Let me just tell you firstly that I am a huge Bourne fan. I loved the first two and they are in fact, the only action movies I own. My DVD collection is surprisingly chuck full of chick flicks despite the wide variety of movies that I enjoy. Anyways, so I have been looking forward to Bourne 3 ever since I found out it was going to be released in like April. I knew that it would kick ass and it did, in fact, kick ass. I scanned a couple of the review headlines before seeing the movie and several critics thought that this was the best Bourne movie so far. I however, favor the first one. I liked the interaction between him and Marie (the girl he was on the run with for those of you who are not Bourne fans). Either way, 3 was still really great. Almost "non-stop, pulse pounding action", if I may use a movie cliche. I highly recommend it. Oh, and on a completely girly note, Matt Damon looks really hot when he's beating the crap out of people and out-thinking everyone in the CIA.

Neat...

I found this website called Meez and you can create this virtual avatar with all sorts of clothing and hair choices. There are tons of animation and background choices as well. Most of the stuff is free but some things you have to pay for with points. I'm not sure how you get the points, to be honest, beyond the creation of this skinny, big headed, virtual version of me, I probably won't do anything else on Meez. I had fun messing with all the features though.

Leaving the Nest...

When we first moved into our house, we noticed that right outside one of the living rooms windows, a Bank Swallow had built her nest on a beam. So we had a front row view of the baby birds once they hatched. Yesterday, the brave little ones left the nest. They scared me half to death because they flew off when I went out one morning to water my plants. I was so worried that I had caused them to leave the nest too early and they weren't going to be alright. But they're just fine. We've seen them flying around in the trees and their parents teaching them how to catch bugs. I kind of miss them, but I'm also glad I don't have to be careful when I go out on my patio. Because now I have these lovelies:
Aren't they gorgeous! I got them at Walmart for $2 a plant! They looked rather sad and spindly when my sister and I found them but I have nursed them back to life! I'm so excited that my black thumb is turning green. It's probably because I love roses so much. Only the Tiffany Roses (lower left) really have a strong fragrance. Strangely enough, the "Perfume Delight" (upper left) roses have hardly any fragrance. I'm also rather pleased with my basil. I love having fresh herbs. As it gets closer to cold weather, I'm going to slowly acclimate them to the indoors. Hopefully I'll be able to keep them alive indoors. If not, I can always buy more in the spring. In fact, I can't wait for next spring! I'm now living in a state with fertile soil and I am going to go bonkers next spring. I really want to get Gardenias. I'm not sure in what capacity God exists, but if he has a smell, I bet you it's Gardenias.

So, I was flipping through the channels tonight (on the floor...it's day 29 and still no furniture though I've been reassured we will have it by the 15th) and I happened upon "From Dusk til Dawn" starring Quentin Tarrantino and George Clooney. I've never seen this movie in one continuous sitting before because it contains a fair amount of cheesiness. I came in on the part where Salma Hayek is doing her "I'm going to seduce you and then eat you" dance and let me tell you: that woman has a rockin body. I mean seriously, curves that could kill, and in this case, did.

My eyes then fell upon Georgie boy. This was pre-salt & pepper Caesar cut. His hair was still all dark and not that sexy. Perhaps what was killing his sex appeal was this enormous tribal tattoo on his left arm that went all the way up his shoulder and on to his neck a little. Now, this movie came out in 1996 (according to my sources...i.e. Google), and I suppose this was when tribal tattoos were cool. This however, was not in any way "cool". It was so obviously fake and out of place of George Clooney that I laughed when I saw it. In fact, the entire movie was wrong for him. Perhaps that's because I feel the ultimate Clooney role is that of Danny Ocean.

Oh, did I mention I love movies? Could you tell? I like my Clooney clothed in fine suits and slick hair, not in a leather vest and spattered in blood. Let's hope Rodriguez and Tarrantino don't solicit George to be in any more of their movies. Although I would like to say that sans Clooney, both directors make kick ass movies...although I think I prefer Tarrantino. He's just as gorey as Rodriguez but with sleaker style.

Surely, the birthday of the Millenium!

The Birthday Girl

Hannah, the youngest

Kristen and me playing "Stretch and Smoosh", although I just look drunk because I'm holding a shandy. I only had one....honest!

Connor, my dad's girlfriend's kid (or my soon to be stepbrother)

More camera high jinks

So today is Kristen's (the middle sister) birthday and we celebrated at an Irish pub (and restaurant). Kristen so badly wanted to go to an Irish pub for her birthday (even though she's only turning twenty), and do you know what she ordered? BBQ baby back ribs. Of course, I had the Irish's version of Cordon Bleu. Whatever. It was good. I tried a shandy because Julie (dad's gf) raved about the shandy she had when she was in England. If you're not in the loop, a shandy is beer and lemonade. It tasted kind of like Tequiza. Sort of...it was okay. Then we had Irish Balloons which were essentially donut holes with powdered sugar and a creamy dipping sauce. All in all, it was a nice family gathering. My grandparents and aunt and uncle and a couple of other people came as well, but I'm posted the most amusing pictures. My sisters and I like to have fun with the camera. Well, I'm off to dreamland for now...my pillow is calling my name!

Would you like some coffee with your morning paper?

Curious...very curious...

So, here's the deal. I realized that the blogs that I like most are the blogs that seem to come straight from the heart. No matter what they're about, I need to get a real feeling from them. So in that spirit I've decided that my blog, while it will undoubtedly be filled with a certain amount of fluff and sparkle, will also be rantings and ravings about my life. Because it's my blog and I can do whatever I want. It might turn out to be hilarious. It might not, but whatever.

So here's my first official rant. Ok, so here's my current living situation: I was, in a previous and not to distant lifetime, a hair stylist (right out of high school). Then I found out I had rheumatoid arthritis. If you don't know anything about RA let me tell you: IT SUCKS. Lots of pain and discomfort and fatigue. Especially when you're standing on your feet all day long listening to women whine about how they want to cut their hair short but their husbands might not like it. Give me a freakin break.

Anyways, despite the pain I did hair for four years. Then, realizing that my goal of going to school while working was NOT going to happen, I asked my father if I could move into the spare bedroom of his house and go to college full time. This meant moving to Corpus Christi (lame). But I did it. And it was going ok. Then, we had to move into a different house because my dad rents because his credit sucks and he's bad with money. He's actually really good at making money, it just flies right out the window. So, the rental market in the area sucks. There are a lot of short term rentals but not a lot of long term. So for 9 months, we lived in 3 different houses.

Finally my dad realized this wasn't going to work and decided he wanted to move to Okla-freakin-homa. Were his girlfriend is. Big freakin surprise. Actually it was. I was shocked. But that's a whole other story. Oh, I remember...the shocking part was, "We're moving in two months". That's not how I work, man. I plan. I make sure all the pieces are in place and fit together before I make a big decision like, oh I don't know, moving your family to another state. (parents are divorced btw).

So it actually fell on me to put a lot of the pieces into place and I got the moving truck, the moving crew, the boxes, all that crap set up. The day before we move I go to the storage units to grab some packing tape and discover that there is an additional red security lock on the units. The manager/owner of the place is MIA. Out sick apparently. Office closed. No one to deal with the business. Red locks all over the damn place. We tried for three days to get a hold of the woman. Finally my dad decides we will just move what we have (clothes, computers, etc) up to Oklahoma and come back for the rest of the stuff later.

That, my friends, was two weeks ago. And it looks like it will be another weeks to two weeks before he goes back down there. Why? I don't know. I ask him and he gets huffy. That's another issue all together which I won't rant about now. What I can tell you, is that if I don't get my furniture soon I'm going to...err...ok I don't even know, but it won't be pretty.

p.s. what do you think of the white background?

3 is a magic number

this is via marta at m.writes

3 JOBS THAT I'VE HELD:
1. "sales associate" at the Nature Company
2. hair stylist at K Charles
3. graphic designer

3 MOVIES I CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER:
1. Amelie
2. Under the Tuscan Sun
3. Either of the Bourne movies (Matt Damon kicks ass)

3 PLACES I'VE LIVED:
1. san antone
2. p to the a
3. Oklahoma!

3 FAVORITE FOODS:
1. anything from Paesanos
2. soft herb goat cheese on baguette
3. strawberries romanov

3 WEBSITES I VISIT DAILY:
1. decor8
2. tongue in cheek
3. dooce

3 PLACES I'D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1. Paris
2. Prague
3. Tuscany...perhaps here

play along if you please.

For the love of Anthony Nak!

I am in love with Anthony Nak! Okay not really. I'm in love with his jewelry. If I was the kind of person who had $10,000 to drop on a necklace or $4,000 to drop on a pair of earrings, I would totally drop it on him. His work is incredible! His website is gorgeous too. Play the anthology, it's beautiful. Short of coming into a large sum of cash via the lottery or some long lost uber rich relative leaving me their vast inheritance, I don't think I'll be able to afford any of his jewelry any time soon. Perhaps someday if he's still around and I'm still pining after his treasures, I'll be able to save up and buy something on clearance. A girl can dream can't she?

New Blog Finds

photo via juju loves polka dots

I found a couple beautiful new blogs that I just love! The first is Juju Loves Polka Dots. Juju not only creates absolutely gorgeous watercolours, but also links to other wonderful artists that she has found.

photo via Shirly Felts

Her blog led me to watercolor artist Shirley Felts who is amazingly talented. Her watercolor paintings are incredibly vivid and have a wonderful dream like quality to them. Her paintings of the rainforest, particularly of the ponds, are my favorites.

photo via artsymama

I also found a blog called ArtsyMama that is brimming with wonderful artsy-craftsy-vintage charm. I just love it!

I'm sure I will find plenty of other blogs through these two new blogs. You know how it goes. I just love finding new inspiration! Enjoy!

Learn French--pour libre!

image from Radio_Lady via the Democratic Underground

So as I may have mentioned previously, I am a francophile! I love all things (well most things) French. I discovered that the BBC online offers languages course for free! So I am going to start learning French for no moola. I was planning on taking French next semester but the new school I'm going does not offer French. Parole ce n'est pas vrai ! Yes, it's true. What's also true is that I translated that sentence with Babelfish. Anyway, you can learn several other languages on the BBC including German, Italian, Spanish, and even Mandarin Chinese! You can find it all here. Au revoir!

New Look

So, I've created a new look for my blog. I wanted something more summery and fun and I think this achieves it. I'll post more later...

Design Dilemma

black foreshortened nude, by Milton Glaser

So, I am a graphic design student. Actually for the past two years I have been attending a university that doesn't actually offer a degree in graphic design but does offer an art degree and a handful or design classes. I have thus far been under the tutelage of only one graphic design instructor and while I am grateful for her, I also feel the need to get more than one point of view. Lucky for me, an opportunity has opened up and in the fall I will be moving to another state and to another school (obviously) that offers a BFA in graphic design.

As a student, I have begun to develop my own style but am still rather unsure of myself. I feel I have a talent for design, I certainly have a love for it, but I still have a fair amount of uncertainty. I suppose we all do, that's what moves us forward and makes us push ourselves to be better. I am torn between my love for frilly, complicated design, and my great appreciation for simple, clean, and elegant. Do I, as a designer, have to choose one or the other? Or is it simply a matter of applying the right design style to the right project. Do you create a definite style for yourself, one that you will be known by? Or do you adapt to each client or situation?

I suppose it's all part of the learning process. Perhaps the more styles you try your hand at, the more you gain a sense of what you like and don't like, and therefore, who you are as a designer. I hope that moving to this new school will provide me with the guidance that I need to become the great designer I know I can be. Or perhaps I will walk into digital foundations on the first day and discover that I know squat. There's nothing like discovering you know a great deal less than you thought you did. That's always a humbling experience. But, as always, an opportunity to grow. You just have to pull yourself up by the bootstraps (or flip flop...straps?) and gleen all the information that you can.

Why Bush is still in office...

I read an interesting article this evening on Salon.com. It was more than interesting, it was a disturbing critique of the American psyche and why, despite Bush's lies and complete disregard for the laws that this country holds in such high regard, we have not impeached him. It was not something that I had previously realized, but now find to be at the forefront of my mind. Read it here and see what you think.

How good does that look?!?

Wow, I have discovered a new cooking blog that is a feast for the eyes! It's called Once upon a Tart. I have yet to try the recipes on it, however once I do, I will be sure to share my opinion. Myriam (the author) is based in Zurich so the recipes are all in the metric system and I will have to convert it all. But, thanks to the never ending resources onthe web, I'm sure I'll be able to do that rather easily. Myriam is a woman after my own heart, and she is a cookbook author and food radiojournalist. So she has pretty decent credibility. She has also dedicated a large portion of her blog to brownies! yum!

While these desserts look scrumptious, they are not the only culinary delights to grace Once upon a Tart. There are also several delicious looking recipes for main courses.