Friday

Sorry for the radio-silence folks. I’ve been busy here working on my site overhaul! I’m knee-deep in WordPress, Headway and Simpleviewer Pro at the moment, but the finish line (of this stage anyways,) is now a glimmer and I’m getting excited.

Do you have something fun planned for tonight or this weekend?  G and I are headed out for a belated birthday dinner. I can’t wait…

Image from Life Magazine’s tumblr! Who knew?

Happy Presidents Day!

 

Aren’t these fun? Click on the images to get more info.  Also remember these portraits from forever ago? About that time again…

Images: 1Canoe2, Jason Wates, Iotacons

Illustration Friday: Fluid

Remember when I used to do Illustration Friday all the time? Yeah, me either. It was a long time ago. I thought I’d give it another whirl using it as a little drawing exercise each week. “I’ll just keep it loose and finish it in under an hour.”  Uh that did not happen this week.

I couldn’t resist the mermaid pull.  Which will probably be one of many in the IF pool this week, but it was new to me.  I hear mermaids are the new zombie/werewolf/vampire in the YA world. And I say bring it on.

I wanted to make her a bit fish-like, and other-worldly, while still keeping it for a middle grade audience age– as opposed to the sexy-siren mermaid version.  What do you think? Hmm maybe topless mermaids too scandalous for that age?

I’m still going to do a bit more with the lighting and a couple of other niggling things (eg I’m not loving the rough oval edge.) But there she is.

“The Happiness Project”

Have you guys read “The Happiness Project“, by Gretchen Rubin? (No, I haven’t been living under a rock. Yes, it was everywhere for a while. I just never got around to reading it. And honestly, I didn’t think it would live up to the hype.) What did you think?

In the past year, or so, I’ve found myself randomly researching happiness and learning more about it. I find the topic fascinating and I think this would have been a great book to start with. I’ve been nodding and taking notes (–seriously, notes.) I’m tempted to buy used copies and hand them out to everyone I know.

I say this knowing I tend to get obsessed with books while I’m immersed in them. It will be interesting to see if the glow wears off after I’m done.  Or if I’ll have a dog-eared copy forever.

Curious to hear what other people think of it. Thumbs up?

Featured in the Providence Journal

Hey check it out!– Our wedding was featured in the Providence Journal (also known as the Projo around these parts,) in a section about DIY Weddings.  We got interviewed and everything. Was not expecting a full page in color though. Sweet!

And, as always, special thanks to Li Ward from Fat Orange Cat Studios, for the gorgeous wedding photos!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!

Do you have fun plans for tonight? As G’s birthday is on the 12th and we usually go out for that, we skip the restaurant Valentine’s craziness and stay in. And make meatballs. I’m not totally sure why, but that’s our V-Day tradition.

Unfortunately, I’m totally sick, which is kind of sad.  G made surprised me with a sweet breakfast though, and I’m hoping to rally for board games and meatball-making later. Wish me luck.

Hope everyone has fun!

 

The photo was taken in Joshua Tree at the crazy-awesome house we stayed at during our honeymoon.  The heart was there when we arrived. 

Video Monday: Whitney Houston

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember when Whitney Houston made your fourth grade heart swell? You and your best friend fought over who sang her ballads best. For years you wanted to be in a band that pretty much exclusively  sang Whitney Houston and Gloria Estefan covers.

Rest in Peace Whitney.

Happy Birthday G!

Happy birthday to my favorite.

Working Wednesday: Distractions

 

 

 

One way to deal with distractions:

How do you deal with distractions during your working hours?

Video by Miranda July found via Makeunder My Life

Buy Nothing New Project: Update

So I thought I’d do an update on our Buy Nothing New Project.

We’ve definitely saved a bunch of money mostly by watching costs on our road trips, and by cutting out unnecessary purchase, aka “impulse buys” in general.

We visit G’s folks, almost two hours away, pretty frequently. Besides gas, we almost always buy snacks at the gas station. And/or stop at 5 Guys for burgers. By making snacks and bringing water with us we save $20 to $30+ round trip.  So far, homemade tortilla chips, and kale chips are our go-to nibbles.

Cheats:

• I bought sunglasses on our way to G’s parents’ house the other day. I could have waited and thrifted them, but I didn’t. They were $10.  My reasoning was that I would waste an afternoon looking for some at a thrift shop, that may or may not have been cheaper. Even if that were true, I should have stuck to my guns on principle. [See below on forming habits.]
• I bought pillow cases at Ikea. I went for work stuff and ended up adding pillow cases to my bag. I really like them. This was totally against the rules.
• I took G out for a celebratory “You Got a New Job!” dinner. I’m happy we went. But I acknowledge this is cheating.
• I’m sure there are more I’m forgetting.

The most interesting part of this project has been how much it’s made me pause when I reach to buy something. Do I really need that XYZ? Many times the answer is no, and so I put it back. I’m surprised how often this happens. I didn’t think of myself as an impulse buyer before.

It’s also made me consider what I can make, or repurpose, instead of purchase. Though for us, that can be a fine line. Sometimes it’s actually cheaper and smarter to buy said item, than to make it from scratch. –The two of us can get a bit carried away with our craft projects. But still, I’m definitely more on the lookout for items that can be repurposed.

It’s also interesting how many things we’re getting rid of. Not buying stuff we don’t need, + purging stuff we own and don’t need, seem to be closely tied to each other.

Things we’ve edited:

• ikea mattress with foam topper (does this count? We gave it away as we got a new mattress… So probably not.)
• Four+ shopping bags full of various items to Savers.
• a bag full of clothes I gave to my mom
• we will soon be rid of an old laptop and a redundant ipod

One thing I’ve found helpful, at least for now in this beginning stage, is to stick to your “rules” even if monetarily it might not be that big of deal. Case in point: We’ve been cutting costs on our movie/tv watching. Redbox ($1 rentals,) the library, Hulu, and Netflix streaming are allowed.  Going to movie theaters, or renting online from iTunes or Amazon, is not. The other day we wanted to watch 50/50 (which, by the way, I think is my favorite movie of 2011. Go see it if you haven’t.) I forgot to pick it up from Redbox (–the library didn’t have it.) We almost rented it through Amazon for $3, but decided not to. We ended up watching it the next night.

Now, $2 is not such a big deal– especially compared to actually going out to the movies (an easy $20+ for both of us.) But waiting the extra night, helped reinforce our new habits of planning ahead. $3 once in a while isn’t a big deal, but $3 every other night is ridiculous when there are cheaper options available. I think this is probably “new habits 101” right?

Anyone have some money-saving tips that work for you? Please share- I’d love to hear!