New Blog Design!

What do you think?

Just a Tease.

I've always thought something big would happen at 25. ;)

bzzz-y, bzzz-y bee.

Life comes at you fast...
here are some quick updates on mine:

1. While the rest of the world takes a school break for summer vacation, my online classes are still in full swing. I've finally reached the halfway point in my year-long trek towards a digital design diploma so to commemorate I've added the amateur beginnings of a design portfolio to my flickr sets, perhaps you'll notice them fly by the sidebar slide show from time to time.

2. My newest little brain child, Be the Lorax, has admittedly been neglected over the past month. But fear not, I do have a few tiny tidbits scheduled to be posted in the next few days. Once my life in the real world settles down a bit, I'm hoping you'll be able to count on more consistent updates...just hang in there with me a bit longer.

and finally, the source of my current time shortage:

3. I'm officially moving to Chicago at the end of the month. My lease technically begins Friday, but the move is scheduled for the 29th. Why such an overlap? Because I jumped at the chance to have the cutest little apartment that my vintage-covered mind could ever dream of: 1920's building. Garden courtyards. Walk in closets.

What more could a girl ask for?

Sex on Paper.

sexy, smart [and often humorous] finds in ad research [for class]:







And I ♥ PETA ads so these must be included:

Down the Rabbit Hole.

Inspired by a project I'm doing for class, but bored by the restrictions of the assignment, I created something just for fun tonight:

sweet like sugar, salty like soy.

First, another adorable Etsy find: CozyMoments bath goodies.
My favorite? The buttercream scented cupcake soap.


I haven't tried it yet, but it just might be my next Etsy order.

Up next: two design projects.

The first is a mock up for a GoVeg.com infographic ad.
[Can you tell I got to pick the subject matter?] I'm actually pretty proud of my little concept. And pretty impressed with my pen tool progress as well.



And, of course, there's Apple #5, or rather 'Apple: submerged'.


I included pink in the design in honor of it being due on Valentine's Day.

And speaking of Valentine's Day, mine was spent with sushi, sweets, and sugary cinema.




Lauren and I spent the evening watching chick flicks in front of a platter of delicious sushi rolls and followed it up with wine, cupcakes and spiked hot cocoa [though not in that order].

Stay tuned later this week for one of the best Etsy finds yet...it's a surprise that's very near and dear to my ♥. ;)

daisies, tea, and fancy free.

This weekend involved tea for four at The Ruby Pear.
Highlights:

I ♥ daisies...


...and tea...


...and chandeliers.


And of course, this weekend also involved the creation of apple #4:

[Not one of my favorites, but at least I'm learning new things.]

Poetry in Pictures

Two quick updates:

1. Server Certification: noun.

:the immensely stressful final process of training with the Cheesecake Factory in which a trainer stalks the trainee for a day of critiquing their every move.

Ok, perhaps the above definition is a bit dramatized, but it was still a stressful morning. But I passed! One more hurdle to jump tomorrow by passing the written final and I'll officially be a Factory employee [and finally able to keep my tips].

2. Design Project: I've been hesitant to post this next design simply because it was done during the craze of training last week [and therefore not as impressive as I would have hoped]. However, it involves both my poetry and my illustrations so I feel it should at least be noted.

The assignment: three spot illustrations for a body of text. I chose my own poem.



For those of you unfamiliar with this poem, these are three stanzas taken completely out of the larger context. I hesitate to post the full version online just yet [I'm hoping to publish it as an illustrated book eventually], but if I have any requests I'll either post it or mail it to you directly.

A is for Adorable. C is for Cards.

Another adorable find in article research.

This one actually made it into the final list, but I just had to post it here as well. Made by Girl is an artist-owned company that I just happened to stumble upon [it reminds me of something one of my creative college friends could come up with, entrepreneur-style]. Adorable and quirky, Girl's designs are right up my alley [and printed on recycled paper, of course].

My favorite: the 'you're my peanut butter, i'm your jelly' valentine.



A is also for Apple. As in Apple #3 for my design class.
I went for a children's book theme:



This one was actually harder than it looks since I had to teach myself how to change the gradient tool from grayscale to red [which took me about a half an hour...I'm not proud of that, but at least I got it].

Last Note: Be sure to check out my article on WUNT that resulted in this fabulous find.

piece of [cheese]cake.

Some quick updates before dreaming:

1. Job search: I have my third and final interview at The Cheesecake Factory tomorrow. If I don't have the job after it's done, I must have taken off my clothing and asked the man to help me find my spaceship during the interview. Ok, not really. But seriously, if I've made it this far don't you think I deserve the job?

Note: some of you may be thinking 'The Cheesecake Factory?!? I thought you quit your last job to find something more inspiring.' But here's the thought: waiting tables will [ideally] get me more money in less hours, therefore freeing up more time for me to pursue other interests.

2. Speaking of other interests: I wrote another article Tuesday [see sidebar]. Working half days this week has allowed not only the time to write, but [more importantly] the time to find the inspiration to write. This week's inspiration came while watching the presidential inauguration. Words cannot express the amount of inspiration and hope I get from watching our new president in action so I won't even try. See my previous entry.

3. And finally: another apple.



Is it sad that this progress excites me?
I guess you have to start somewhere.


Stay tuned next week for info on my celebratory last day at Reeves and [hopefully] my first day at the new job.

apples and...lemons?

Today at lunch I made an amazing food discovery. I wanted pasta, but as I boiled the last of my spaghetti, I opened the fridge to find that my canned pasta sauce [chunky garden vegetable...it's amazing] had about a tablespoon left in the jar. Perhaps this is enough sauce for some people, but I prefer my pasta coated in tomato sauce. So I improvised: a little sauce and a little butter...good, but still missing something. So I glance in my fridge and notice the lemon half left over from my salad. The idea of putting lemon juice on my pasta sounded counter-intuitive [like the blueberry puppy chow], but I went for it anyway. And guess what: it was AMAZING. As a matter of fact, I might start doing pasta, olive oil, and lemon juice as a normal meal. Maybe topped with a little cheese. Yum.

In other news, online classes have started back up. This session: Digital Illustration. I am in desperate need of this subject since I am CLUELESS when it comes to anything more than basic shapes and gradient effects in Adobe Illustrator.

There's one particular assignment for this class that I actually find quite fascinating: each week we are required to create an apple and each week it must be a completely different apple. I love this idea, not just for the challenge, but also because I know my own designs will be changing both in skill use and in creativity from week to week and I'm anxious to see that development. So, as a total amateur, here's my first apple:



This probably looks really basic to most of you, but I was ecstatic to teach myself both the warp and the fill tool [two foreign concepts to me before last night].

Stay tuned for future adventures in apples and entrees by yours truly.