Monthly Archives: July 2012

Shopping Spreeeee

I think I’m going to take out a loan. Not really. But I definitely feel like I could right now. Why? To go shopping, duh. Makes me feel really materialistic, but oh well. I’ve had the kind of week that could easily be remedied with some retail therapy.

That, and I think I’m getting a better idea of what my style is these days. And I actually think Pinterest has helped me out by being able to see everything I like in one place. In fact, all of these fun pieces are from my “Get In My Closet” pinboard.


1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

These items are each a little quirky in their colors and patterns, but I’m finding more and more that I’m drawn to very basic silhouettes with something that makes it POP here and there. All of the items I have listed above are from this weird website… I can’t quite tell if they manufacture cheapo “made in China” polyester things that are awful for the environment, or if they’re actually of good quality. I have reason to believe that they are the former, which means I probably won’t be purchasing any of these anytime soon. That, and I have a weird phobia/thing about buying clothing online. But I do like the look of all of them and the color they’d bring to my closet. So oh well, a girl can dream (and be on the hunt for similar items)!

Also, I used some tips from the recent Pugly Pixel post. The moment I saw it, I was drawn in. Mostly because this is exactly how I crop collage elements when I’m making art. Neat-o, right?!

Happy, Happy

First off, happy happy happy birthday to my (little, middle) sister! Twenty three years young! Holy moly! I love you sissy and can’t wait to see you tomorrow!

Second, just LOOK at those awesome tablet-drawing skills, yo! I received an amazing bamboo Wacom tablet from my parents this past Christmas, and I’ve only just scratched the surface of all that it can help me do. I hope I can find some tutorials and push myself to use it more.

Second, I’m happy because I’ve been spending a lot more time making things, in part to the fact that I like to actually spend time in my office and around my art supplies. In just a few short days my office has been transformed. Mostly because my coworker was super generous and let me HAVE the awesome baker’s rack you see behind me. Thanks, Kevin!

In addition to the office update, I’ve got a fresh haircut and a pretty new dress I’m wearing to my sister’s birthday dinner tomorrow night. I was also able to sleep in this morning and get a loaf of banana bread baked before heading off to work today. YESSSSSSSS.

Anyway, do you want to see some of the things I’ve been working on since my office is so kick-ass now? Okay!

I’ve had this huuuuge paint by number for a while. It was only $3.99 at Goodwill. I found some of the vinyl letters when deep cleaning the cabinets at work. This painting just needed SOMETHING… I’ve seen some tutorials where people put the letters on the painting, paint OVER everything, and then peel them off to reveal the paint by number that’s underneath. I guess that could’ve been cool, but… then you kind of ruin the charm of the paint by number, which is what I love about it. Whatever. I like it. Pete does too.

And this is something I came up with the other night. It’s more of a putzing-around sort of weird collage thing. I don’t know.

I’m not sure if I’m completely finished with it, but it feels good to be making stuff again. I’ve got art projects on my brain lately, so hopefully I’ll be able to keep plugging away at them!

A Case of the Mondays

Because it’s too good to not share. At breakfast this morning…

Pete is so cute (oh, and Leo, too). Don’t you feel this way about Mondays sometimes (or all of the time)?

I had a pretty good Monday, actually. Woke up to a very clean house (hurray for cleaning spree weekends), had my work ladies over to the house for lunch, went to an eye doctor appointment (boo, I’m getting more and more blind each and every year), and will be attending a Minnesotans United for All Families meeting at their new headquarters in my neck of the woods tonight. I’m so excited to get involved with this organization to defeat the amendment this fall!

This week I’m looking forward to:

  • A much-needed haircut
  • Health-at-Work sponsored yoga and Pilates classes
  • Seeing storyteller Kevin Kling perform at my work’s summer concert series
  • Working in the beer tent during my town’s outdoor concert series (different from the one we do at my work)
  • Seeing Beirut at the Cabooze on Saturday
  • Going out to dinner with the fam for my sister’s birthday

Anyway, I hope you have a happy Monday!

Handmade

Since dropping some of my other time commitments, I’ve found myself feeling more and more apt to create things for… myself. The past few weeks I’ve found myself pursuing some of the artistic outlets I’ve put off for a really long time.

One of my most recent projects was painting the windows at my local co-op. I’ve been wanting to help out there more (currently, I’ve only been meeting bi-weekly for our marketing committee) so when they needed a solution for brightening up their storefront windows, I jumped at the opportunity to come up with something for them. At first we thought we wanted something very “design-y” and intricate, but we settled on simply writing out some of the products we offer so people know we are more than a Farmers Market. I’m really happy with how it turned out and I’m looking forward to working on more projects for them!

This is another piece I recently created. I’m not quite sure where it came from inspiration-wise, but I’ve been hanging on to some of the pieces of this for quite a while. I finally put it all together in a couple of hours last weekend. Collage is one of my favorite creative outlets, and I’m happy I’ve been able to dive back into it. I have plans to potentially purchase a large-format scanner, so some of my artwork could possibly become digital prints. Cool, right?

I worked on this project a few weeks ago. I had seen these inspiration pieces a LOOONG time ago, and it wasn’t until AFTER I finished the project that I came across them again in some women’s magazine while waiting at the mechanic. What I came up with was nowhere near as amazing as these other globes, but it was a really fun project. I rounded up a few more globes in the meantime, and will hopefully come up with another plan for doing another one.

 Are you working on any art projects? I’d love to hear about them!

Parallels

It’s been a long time coming. I’ve mentioned before that my boyfriend is a drummer – a  pretty good one, too! This week, Pete released his debut album “Parallels.” For this project he’s the bandleader of a trio of drums, piano, and bass (plus a couple of brass players on one track). I’m not great at labeling things like this, but I think it’s pretty accessible, enjoyable contemporary jazz. Actually, it’s probably a lot more than that. I think it’s a pretty big deal. Parallels is currently available as a digital download HERE.

In addition to the jazz album, he simultaneously released a beat tape of funky grooves he created under the project name “Elephane,” which you can download HERE.

Doesn’t he clean up nice?! You can see more pictures of him at his website.

I’m so proud of all of the hard work he’s put into these projects – for such different types of projects to come out at the same time and at such high caliber is really awesome. So many late nights, hours spent practicing, time spent creating arrangements and original compositions (6 of the 10 tracks are original compositions – one’s a Lady Gaga song!), and making plans for the recording process. All of this on top of his day job, touring, gigging, and hanging out with me. Ha!

But really, I’m so pleased with what he’s come up with. If you’re able to support him with a download or even a shout-out, it would mean the world to both of us. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Who Nose?

To nose-ring or not to nose-ring. That is the question.

I’ve had my nose pierced for four years. I got it this weekend exactly four years ago (I only know that because I got it right around the time Pete and I started dating). Anyway, I just recently lost the stone to the tiny stud I was wearing in my piercing. So I went to get replacement jewelry, and while I was there I also picked up a nose RING.

It’s easily removable, and so far I’m really liking it. The only problem is that I’m not quite sure what to do about it um… professionally. I have a great job that I really like with a pretty casual attitude about piercings and tattoos. No one there has ever had any qualms about me wearing the tiny stud in my nose. In fact, most people say that they rarely even notice it.

But a ring/hoop is a little bit different. I’m not really sure why though… I’ve been told at my part-time job that the boss really sees piercings and tattoos as “deal-breakers” and “unprofessional” (even though she knows I’ve had a stud in my nose the whole time I’ve worked there). So I think I’m pretty sure I’ll be taking it out for work and then wearing it again on the weekends.

That sounds pretty silly, right? Is it? What are your perceptions on nose-rings vs. studs? Or are piercings ever appropriate in the workplace?

Madison

I did something out of the norm: I took vacation days! And went on vacation!

One of the few pictures we took,on top of the Monona Terrace with the capitol building in the background.

Now granted, we didn’t go very far (Madison is about 5.5 hours from our house in Central MN), but we had a great time! The entire time Pete and I were pleasantly surprised by what the city had to offer.

Our favorite parts of vacation:

  • King sized bed. KING SIZED BED.
  • How accessible the state capitol was: Four roads in the city drive right up to the steps, it’s in the heart of the city, and people were always out and about around its grounds and steps. We even saw a couple taking wedding pictures there on Saturday morning.
  • The HUGE Farmers Market on Saturday. It circled the entire capitol. I was bummed we didn’t live closer because I wanted to buy ALL THE PRODUCE!!
  • Totally walkable. We walked everywhere. To the lakes, down State Street, to campus, around the lakes again. We were so lucky we had beautiful, sweltery-hot weather to walk around in.
  • But we would have loved to have had our bikes. There is a bike rental thingy with multiple stations around town, but we didn’t try it out. Also, if you lived in Madison and didn’t have a bike or moped, you were pretty unlucky. They were EVERYWHERE. Hundreds, thousands of bikes and mopeds. I’ve never seen so many. Not even in Paris.
  • Coffee. Lots of coffee drinking on this trip.
  • The houses and buildings all had character and charm. Granted, many were run-down college houses, but still! The porches and balconies. Lovely.
  • We had lots to do. Evening fireworks on Saturday, and a concert at the UW-Madison Memorial Union. We saw The Promise Ring for free (made me feel like I was in high school again) and drank beers on the plaza. We also visited two art museums. The Chazen Museum of Art was unbelievable and the Madison Museum of Modern Art had some interesting exhibitions as well.
  • Our last breakfast at the Johnson Public House. Intellegentsia Coffee made to order/pour-over style, delish breakfast sandwiches, cool art, and Pet Sounds on in the background. The perfect coffee shop. We’re kicking ourselves that we didn’t bring any beans home with us. Drats.

On one of our lakeshore walks I snapped these pictures of our feet. Pete had no idea I even took that picture of his feet or that the blue ghost grafitti was on the ground – ha!

All in all we had a great time together, and I think the time away from home was refreshing for both of us. It definitely solidified how important vacations are for our mental health. I’m excited to plan more weekend excursions together!