from the invitation headquarters

This weekend is one of the first in a looong time that isn't devoted to invitation-making. Throughout May I was hustling to finish Julie and Chris' invitations by deadline. Earlier this month, the three of us spent some quality time in the invitation headquarters to assemble the finished product. The hot mess included laser printers, grommets, exacto knives, fine paper products, and a few beers. The finished piece is a 3-page oblong invitation that I'm seriously proud of and that they love. Everyone wins! Here's the cover page and the initial sketch. I hope to have better photos of the whole enchilada soon.

Julie and Chris are a mellow Southern-bred couple who have been together for 10 years or so. They are getting married at a farm/event space on an island an hour from Seattle. My approach to their invitation was to depict their laid-back vibes and palpable adoration for each other.
In other news, I've finally bit the bullet to hire a designer to re-do my website. My site has served me well but it was my first foray into web design. I've done a lot of work since I created it in 2006 and now it's time to graduate. My new site will be more focused on wedding and event announcements and will reflect the business that I'm developing. I'm excited.

get together, slim down

This article in the New York Times is short and very sweet! A Philadelphia-based poet shares his thoughts on the good of the economic shitstorm: newfound time, freedom, and social interaction. I love it.


With that being said, I am not approaching life with much zen. I'm overcome with home improvement ideas. I read the Apartment Therapy blog daily and have an unhealthy fascination with well-designed, personal and functional homes. The weird thing is, I don't buy anything for our place. I just internet-window shop and dream. And when it comes down to it, the only furniture I pull the trigger on is used stuff from Craigslist. Oh, and here's a sweet pic of my actual home (well, my home a few years ago and I DO have a valid excuse for the ridiculous clutter...my whole family was packed into my studio after a mountain biking/road trip to Montana).

When I'm not scheming up my- I mean our- dream home, I'm researching DIY wedding projects. I always scoffed at brides who spent $40,000 on their wedding. Seriously, it's one day! But there are so many cool ideas out there, I am starting to see how people get sucked into the wedding vortex. Every time you make a wedding-related decision it costs at least $60.



Ahh, to be a young lady in a consumer-driven society....

love is a 3-hole punch

Sweet molasses! Time is flying as we approach our wedding day. It's all good though. We've got the speakers reserved, the food ordered, photographer booked, hairdo figured out...we've crossed all the Ts and dotted all the lower case Js, so to speak.

I've been having a blast with my girlfriends coast-to-coast. Last weekend Dave and I galivanted to CT for some pre-wedding festivities. My girls threw me a bachelerorette, which I knew about but didn't know any details. Michelle, Ashley, Audrey and Becky were the party planners du jour. They made/bought all my favorite foods (sushi, Weight Watchers Mexican corn cakes, carrot cake, and peanut M&Ms, which I forget I love until you put them in front of me and they're gone in 60 seconds). I felt like a celebrity in my private dressing room, with all my faves at arms reach. Since this is a family-friendly blog I'll keep the details of the night PG rated, but there was definitely some good-natured naughtiness and penis-themed antics. Great times.



My friend Kristin is a teacher and she had her 4th graders make a book about "What Love Is", which she gave to us as our engagement present. Her students are mostly English as a Second Language, and their thoughts on love crack me up. For example: "Love is when my Dad tells me I don't have to go to school". "Love is hugging and kissing. Love is just a gift card". Or, "Love is when my dog licks my face, runs away and then licks my face again". It is an awesome book that is now properly displayed on our mantel.


Not to be outdone by my East Coast hotties, my Seattle girls and I went out on the town last night. We got some tapas, margaritas, and then moved on to kir royales. Yumm! Then we went to see some live music downtown. It was ridiculously fun.

I love my friends.

where the sun don't shine

Spring in Seattle looks just like winter, except there is some greenery on the trees and it stays light later. The air smells fresh. However, I am about done with the grey skies and rain. It's Bike to Work month but the weather hasn't really been cooperating. I've ridden twice and had to leave my bike at work both times because I am a fair weather rider. This ain't fair weather.

The good news is that I've been in the studio- and by studio I mean my office- on the weekends. Amazingly, the sun has been making an appearance on Saturdays as if on cue. Which is when I tend to be behind a computer screen. But whatever, beggers can't be choosers. Part of the wedding suite I'm doing for Julie and Chris includes an invite for their Pig n' a Pod party.
Chris is a crazy good cook, and my friends are hosting a pre-wedding throwdown on their property in Central Washington (where the sun does shine). The 'pod' is a wooden structure they built on their regulation frisbee golf course (seriously). In July we will trek over the Cascade Mountains and watch Chris roast a pig, engage in a multi-day frisbee golf tournament, and drink to our hearts' content. I can't wait!

I've made a point not to indulge in my bridal obsessions on this blog but I would like to share the invitation I made for our upcoming wedding. For weeks I had a hard time focusing on what to do. There are so many invitation designers whose style I love- and one too many who rely on the standard issue floral letterpress bullshit- and so many sources of inspiration. I was like my own worst client. My friend Keita helped me define my theme (old timey ass dance party!). Once I nailed down a theme for the whole wedding, the invitation concept fell into place, and I had a lot of fun making them. Dave provided invaluable critiques. For a non-artist, he sure has some good gut feelings about design. Here she is:

emergency snack kits

Ever since I experienced the NYC blackout of '03 I thought it'd be a good idea to create a disaster preparedness kit. The infamous East Coast blackout happened the third month I lived there, which sent my imagination spiraling and my heart a-pumpin. I was always on "high alert" due to a healthy dose of anxiety and elevated terror threats. I freaked out anytime the subway paused in the tunnel longer than normal, so you can imagine my fear when all the city's lights flickered out, and stayed out, and no one knew what was happening for hours.

Well, despite my anxiety, I never made the kit...until this month! My favorite magazine, Bust, published an article essentially saying "Hey sister, don't be sitting around waiting for Red Cross when disaster strikes. Be prepared". I took the magazine and the list of kit essentials to Fred Meyer this weekend, where I filled my cart with a first aid kit, jugs of water, and a flashlight. And snacks. Lots of snacks. When I got home and filled up an old backpack with the stuff, I realize that I may not have a multi-tool, solar blanket, or a whistle, but I do have 17 different types of nuts.

The problem with the kit is: you have to be home when disaster strikes! I'm mostly not at home, which creates a problem. But at least it's better than nothing. My other problem is that now Dave knows there's a Snickers bar in the bag. I really should keep an eye on inventory.


In other news, I booked our honeymoon flight to Mexico on Saturday morning, about an hour before I walked out of the house to encounter doomsday-type headlines (are there any other kinds?) regarding the pig flu throughout Mexico. Well, shoot. I mean, our honeymoon is not till late July so we have time on our side. But it took a TON of legwork finding a destination that time of year that wasn't hurricane season, rainy season, rattlesnake season and was within our budget. I guess there's always something, you just gotta roll with it.

In much better news, I always walk past a neighborhood children's store that sells baby clothes. I spotted this ridiculously cute snail onesie, which I finally purchased for my cousin Ali. She's having her first baby, and the first baby of our generation.

a girl's gotta eat

When I'm not hanging out in tropical paradise, I find some time to work on freelance projects. Here are some recent ones. (Copywrite Shawna M, 2009!)

A Save the Date for my friends who are tyin' the knot. I'm also going to create their jack n' jill and wedding invites.


A business card for my dear pastry chef friend.

Mahalo!

We are back from a fantastic trip to our 50th state, Hawaii. Dave and I hiked, kayaked, helicoptered, drove, ate, and indulged in "general relaxation" around Kauai with my sister and her man. Kauai is Hawaii's Garden Isle, which loosely translates to Cloudy Isle. I gotta say, we were forewarned. Some friends who are familiar with the islands noted that the weather might be iffy this time of year. Regardless, we did just fine on our tropical vacay.

I'd say the highlight of our trip was an afternoon of wine drinkin' and grasshopper pie eatin' in Hanalei. Once we'd gotten our sugar fix, we walked down the road to Hanalei Bay, where Dave and Jeff hoped to catch some big boogie boardin' waves. Dave had a great idea to wear flippers so he could swim out against the surf. Jeff agreed. Watching them cruise the beach in flippers was priceless; Ashley and I died laughing from ashore. Then we realized we were being lame and decided to brave the water. Not as warm as we hoped but still nicer than Puget Sound on its very best day.

The lowlight of the trip was Dave's food poisoning, which he got from our first Hawaiian dinner. After five hours of being violently ill (and sleeping intermittently on the bathroom floor), we decided to hit up the ER. We went to one of the island's two hospitals. The doctor obviously rolled out of bed to treat Dave, the lone patient, and I wouldn't be surprised if he went surfing after he hooked up the IV (Dr. Feelgood rocked some Nike high tops and was no older than 30). Dave recovered in 24 hours but it was an odd intro to our long-awaited vacation.

All in all we had a fabulous time. It's always nice to get away from email, public transportation, the daily routine and to experience a new place. Before our trip, I  felt that a pre-wedding vacation was indulgent. My travel buddies convinced me I was being a silly nanny, and that we should go anyways. I'm happy I succumbed. Money spent on travel is money well spent.