World Nutella Day!

Illustration by yours truly

Oh my gosh, can you Just Believe it?! It's February 5th, which in any sweet-toother's calendar is marked as World Nutella Day. Last night, I doodled a nice little jar of Nutella, as I had it laying on my counter whilst enjoying my Nutella covered toast. Ahh, the splendor of such a day. I do believe it is also National Pancake Day, as well. I know...breathe.

All of this great, happy, sweet news only means one thing for us all: our dinner tonight shall be simple & sweet, with a side of happy. Let's all make pancakes & embellish the heck out of them with tastey Nutella, shall we?

Now, go! Enjoy the day filled with Nutella!

Map Monday: Handcrafted 3D Topographical Maps

Happy Map Monday! How intricate & beautiful are these 3D topographical maps? Stunning! This shop, Lay of the Land, has a small, & high quality collection of topographical 3D maps, as well as wood carvings of certain lakes within our country. All are absolutely gorgeous & definitely worthy of taking up some wall space.

Anything unique & handcrafted holds such a special value, doesn't it? To know & see the hard work that goes into creating such pieces is truly something!

Happy Weekend & Alt Summit Recap

Happy Weekend! It's taken me a while to pull this post together, because I have so many fun things to share, & interesting points to make from Alt Summit, I didn't want to sound like I'm a jumbled mess of stories & words; thus, simplify these dancing thoughts. I will remind you that I went as a buddy (with my lovely friend, Sharon McMullen--thank you!), & still walked away with great inspiration. So, I hope my little words & lessons learned can serve as something to you from the 2 classes I attended, & wonderful people I met!

It's difficult to attend an event such as Alt & not walk away with at least one valuable thought, lesson, or stepping stone. I was able to attend 2 classes, & with all of the wonderful people I met, I would say the theme of the week for me was this: Celebrate, Create, & Support Community. 

Most of those who attend Alt Summit are bloggers, & with that, some can get too caught up in their own blog that they unintentionally only care about what they're doing & how they want to grow it. We've all been there, I certainly have. I completely agree that it's important to want to learn more about your blog & how to grow it for you, but don't forget about your community who supports you & your blog, and/or how you can create a supportive & welcoming atmosphere on your blog, or business for that matter! It's good to have a healthy & genuine balance of the two, because clearly you have unique talents to offer your readers, but be sure to reach out & make them feel special & appreciated, & see how you can get involved in your blogging community. Reach out to your favorite blogs, or simply be supporters of other blogs you believe in, too. One of the most precious lessons I learned was this, my Jessika Hepburn:

Pretty strong, genuine, refreshing, & kind-hearted words, right?

Aside from the important note above, the other lesson I learned & kept in mind while planning to go to Alt & my stay there was this: Just be yourself & have funn!

I don't mean this in a "Debbie Downer" way, but I went to Alt with kind of low expectations. Not because I thought it wouldn't be as great as I imagined, but the contrary--

Click to read more ...

Calligraphy Notes for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is fast approaching! I'm excited to share a calligraphy print I've created for a sweet Etsy customer! If you're interested in having a special & custom print created from one of your most lovely quotes, Bible verses, song lyrics, or wedding vows (to name a few!) for your special someone, let me know--I'd love to scribe something unique, lovely, & special for your lovely self.

The deadline to place these custom orders is coming up soon--Tuesday, February 5th. You can contact me through my blog (look to the left, to the left), or Etsy shop for details if you're wanting to gift something like this.

Here are the sizes offered in the shop:

5x7 | 5x7 with embellishments

8x10 | 8x10 with embellishments (the sample print shown is 8x10 with embellishments)

11x14 | 11x14 with embellishments

thanks, ya'll!

Pinterest Finds: Post-Travel Sweet Tooth Problem

 

I've been pinning a lot of delicious treats on Pinterest, because I'm still recovering from that sugar-eating-spiral I put myself in from the many layovers & traveling last week, so everything looks good, & I want it all, & I want to make it all, & I want to love every moment of it & not care what anyone thinks of this unhealthy & beautiful mess I'm in!

You know how it goes when you are flying somewhere: you're at the airport, you know you're going to be hanging out for a while, you know eventually you'll be sitting on an airplane with no access to good food for at least a good two hours, & all of a sudden you believe you're hungry every moment you're there. You just had a rinky-dinky, $8 sandwich, & then they announce they're boarding your plane that you'll be on for 2 WHOLE HOURS. What? How will I survive?! So, you do what any normal person would do, & buy that king size pack of peanut m&ms at the stand nearby. Phew. I'm safe. I have food.    

But, then, you feel like crap. Obviously. Because you just tricked yourself into thinking you're going to die without food, or m&ms. Then, when you return from your vacation, you can't seem to shake your binge-sugar-eating habits. It's an odd transition for some of us. Which is where I am right now.

I had 3 layovers this past Saturday, so needless to say, I did not choose the smart route & eat healthy lovely little granola snacks & tea & smile pretending it tasted yummy. I indulged in the soda, nachos, m&ms, coffee, donuts. People probably looked at me asking, "is she okay?"

So, needless to say, if you're with me & need to just wait out your "temporary" sugar rush to the point you are disgusted so you (thankfully) return to a normal eating pattern, these great-looking treats on Pinterest will hopefully become your temporary best friends.

You're welcome. I think.

1. Oreo Marshmallows, 2. Cinnamon & Sugar Donuts, 3. White Chocolate & Cinnamon Pretzels, 4. Blackberry Cabernet Cupcakes

Passport to: Eva's Bakery, Salt Lake City

 

I haven't written a Passport to: post in a while! I love sharing new places I've been able to try & hope that you can either try them, too, or be inspired by them & search for similar areas near you!

When I was wandering around Salt Lake City last week, I heard from a couple of different people from the Alt Summit festivities that I should try Eva's Bakery for lunch. Since I went as a buddy, I had some time to sit back or walk around to enjoy the city while everyone was in classes (I actually recommend finding somebody to buddy with if you miss out on buying the real tickets--it's so nice to thoroughly enjoy the city, especially if you've never been!).

When I first walked up to the door, I hate to say it, but the typography-loving designer in me knew it was going to be quite an awesome experience due to the awesome & beautiful typeface & fancy elements displayed right in front of me! Call me biased, judgmental, snooty-pa-tooty designer, but this left a good first impression on me, & I think helped dictate my next reactions to the splendor of this bakery as I stepped foot in the door. Lame, I know.

But, can we all agree first impressions mean something, sometimes? Great logo= (probably) great bakery! I'm ready to storm inside & check this place out!

Click to read more ...

Map Monday: Alt Summit Map

Happy Map Monday, all!

I am back from what I shall say has been one of the most inspiring weeks I've had in a while! Alt Summit was incredible, even as a buddy who was able to go to a couple of classes! I can't imagine those of you who were able to truly attend everything--I can't wait to hopefully stand by my computer later this year when next year's tickets go on sale for the real deal!

One of my favorite things from Alt Summit was this giant cork board map--it was created to pin all of us attendees' locations via our business cards. How great to sit back & gather where everyone is located, & get a feel for what's going on within our very own map. It's interesting (& somewhat predictable) where the "hot spots" are, & then, where location isn't everything--no matter where, we all attended for the same reason(s) & there was something uniting about that, no matter our location.

I'm very passionate about travel, & believe it to be something we need in life, no matter how extravagant or simple. I think travel opens our minds & hearts, and helps us think about our everyday's in a whole new light, & can therefore transform & inspire us to better ourselves in these little, or big, ways. So, to have it so obviously displayed on this map of so many attendees willing to make this trip happen, & thus, to some degree seem to agree in this concept of travel, too, you can't expect anything less than amazing & inspiring at such an event! Agreed? What are some of your inspiring thoughts on travel?

I will dive into a more in depth "review" of my great week at Alt Summit on Friday--there's so much to process right now, that my words will sound like a million pieces of confetti exploding from a bursting box! I need to gather the confetti in a tidy box, maybe even color code it, & wrap a ribbon around it so I will make more sense. 

I hope you all have a refreshing start to your week, & that you find some ways to travel!

Map Monday: Salt Lake City Subway Map

I am finishing up a few more Subway maps of European cities (Roma, Paris, & London coming soon!), & couldn't help but feature the little ol' Salt Lake City since I'm currently packing to visit this week! Plus, any of you who may be in the same boat I am & going to experience such a beautiful city this week, you may want a little piece of artwork to remember it by! 

Happy Map Monday!

Happy Weekend & ORGANIZING BEFORE VACATION

Photo found on Pinterest, original here.

Who doesn't just love the sunrays shining through open windows on a slept-in morning, accompanied by a warm cup of coffee? I would love to have this desk sitting right in front of these sun-welcoming windows! That's one (bad) thing about living in narrow streets in Philly--the sun doesn't have much opportunity to shine through, unless you live on the top floor. When noon approaches, it's so bright & I feel most energized; however, I never get to experience it while I'm away at my day job, which makes the weekends that much more glorious for my sun-loving self! I love working on my projects on the weekends--it's just me, the sun, & my to-do list, & it's awesome.

Next week I leave to experience a portion of Alt Summit, & I'm spending this weekend organizing my studio. I've started rearranging since I came back from Christmas vacation! It's time to make it happen. I don't know about you all, but when I know I'm going to be leaving for a few days, I like to leave my place somewhat clean & organized. So I'm excited to sit near the sun, feel refreshed from an organized space & completed projects, & hopefully energized by the Salt Lake City trip to come!

I hope you all have a refreshing & organized weekend, & enjoy the sun when you can!

Calligraphy Love Stamp for Valentine's Day!

Guess what's around the corner? Valentine's Day, duh! Does anyone want a cute little calligraphy "looove" stamp to embellish their cards, stationery, scrapbook pages, general awesome art to-do's? If so, you can check it out here! I know some of you Valentine's haters are just thinking, "Oh pah-lease, love stamp, shmlove stamp." Well, this stamp is specially made for those who loove to celebrate fun days & will probably wear pink & red on February 14th! Or, maybe you just want a Love Stamp "just because." The DIY's & fun are endless with this little thing.

Enjoy!