this den though

Moment of silence for the cutest den that ever was. It's everything I could've ever wanted for our basement apartment in DC, but unfortunately our lack of windows prevents it from becoming reality. The colors, plants, and overall airy feeling feed my soul for real. Whimsy plus whimsy times whimsy, squared.

Well done, person!

keeping the focus

I've said it time and again. I'm terrrrrible at keeping up with this blog. Sorry folks! Having a full time job and being a real person in a real city has proven to be a little hectic to start, but I'm quickly getting the hang of it. New apartment, new "roommate" (hi honey), new workplace, new clients, new habits.

We moved in at the end of July and immediately bought all the essentials. Here I am, sitting here, telling you that we purchased all this random stuff the week we moved in just to fill the voids of the space we had here. This is the only thing I tell people who are moving/just moved to avoid doing. "You'll end up with a bunch of sh*t you don't even like," I would say. But here I am.

the opposite of our house.

The place was bigger than we thought it would be and with an absence of WINDOWS on the walls (basement living to the fullest), I began to panic a little. We bought mainly kitchen essentials because cooking is like totally our thing. We bought bookshelves because someone has a lot of books, and that someone is not the girl writing this blog. We bought the cheapest coffee table we could. We swooped in and got the hand-me-down-and-free dining table and chairs from his old house. We have yet to do anything with said dining table and chairs besides put a lot of junk on it. BUT... we bought a small rug for under my lovely couch, both of which I actually love. Those can stay for awhile.

My bedding mixed with Jeff's mattress was like heaven on earth the first night we got to sleep in the apartment. Other than that, the bedroom is bare. BARE, Y'ALL. I am having a mini crisis just trying to figure out what to do with it, so I resorted to Pinterest (per usual). Just to remind myself that did have a general look/feel of this place in mind when we found it and moved in. Sometimes this process needs to happen before things get really weird and you end up with some red paper lamp.

I bought one last year at this stage. It's currently behind me.

on making it perfect

When it comes to making a home your own and really styling it to your liking, I have a lot to say. My thoughts generally include angst toward those who just can't seem to make up their mind on how they want to style their home. 

Styling the place you spend all of your nights sleeping (well, mostly all of your nights, unless you travel and such) and all of your weekends baking and brunching (I wish) should not be hard. It should not be a task. It is a straight-up hobby. Something you do as you go along in life and find what speaks to you.

the pretty

Today being my only day off this week definitely merited some online window shopping to the usuals. By usuals I mean the "I just realized I'm broke and can't afford anything other than this" stores. Harsh realities y'all. I found a lot of patterns that spoke (sang, rather) to me, including this skirt, this Zara dress (never have I ever found something at Zara?), and this dress. Spring is coming, you guys. It's about damn time. We deserve it. I had more snow days that I've had since 2006. Many a fire were made, many a comfort foods were eaten. Christmas is a distant memory. The dresses are practically leaping out of my closet.

Aside from online window shopping, I did my fair share of Pinterest. By Pinterest I mean "staring blankly at the scrolling iPhone screen and tapping." Most inspiring and warm fuzzy generating were the ones of peonies (one of the most perfect things on this planet), and beautiful places in France, because... Hello, France. What I would give to transport to Paris right this instant and have a chocolate croissant. My local bakery just isn't cutting it anymore...

A seemingly Greek town just getting some sun. Pastel buildings, bright blue water, whitewashed everything. In reality, I have no idea what that is. All it says to me is "you belong here." I'm down...

This week also marked a week where I actually tried to start sketching again. It lasted for two days. Such is life.

But I did find some inspirations along the way. Someone I've admired from afar (in a totally uncreepy way, guys) since my brief stint on tumblr (ain't nobody got time) - bouffants & broken hearts. She definitely knows what she's doing.

Watercolor is a thing of the past for me, but maybe I'll find some inspiration once the weather warms and things start looking alive again, as opposed to crunchy, dead, withering plants. One can hope! Experimenting with sketching and watercolor could be a fun little proj to try out... The second my deck is free of clutter, dead plants, snow, and dirt, I'm absolutely sitting out there with a cold beer (or wine!) and getting some pretty things made.

To the weekend I go (actually I work tomorrow and Sunday, I don't remember what a weekend actually feels like?)!

a post that makes no sense

Oh hey there, blog. It's been so long. I'm sorry it's taken [yet another] snowy day to bring us back together for the first time since Halloween.

This post is about getting your shit together and doing what you want to do in life. Accomplish what you want to accomplish! Don't let your day job get in the way of what you really strive to achieve. Hell, maybe even try to combine your goals into your day job, if possible. I know it's possible for me. Some people, however, those financial consultants that really dream of being golf pros, maybe this isn't as attainable.

But if you're working at a boutique small business that is already basically a design firm/store in itself, why not try to merge your graphic design talents in there as well? Shake things up a bit. Everyone will benefit from a rebranding strategy. You will get to do graphics work, and the business will look better. Win win, right?

Maybe. Let's explore.

First, a sketch. One that reminds me to keep sketching, because I can. This is one of a series of 30 from a garden at school. It was the bomb. I have vowed to sketch one page per day. Maybe this will help me determine my priorities.

are we seeing a trend here?

Welp, here I am on the last day of the month. I am counting this as my October post. I've noticed that my blog posting has been entirely too sporadic for my liking (once a month!). As I've slowly started to show this secret little world to close ones, strangers, and dreamers alike, it's become apparent that maybe I should try a little harder to keep it up.

To that I say "bring it on" but I also know that next week I'm going to be like ehhhh sleepinginsoundsgood and to that I would also say there is no point in forcing inspiration. Cause that's just dumb. When you're inspired, you're inspired. If you're not, you ain't. Ya know?

I'd rather post when I mean it as opposed to just spewing posts onto this blog for the sake of having posts. Quality over quantity, y'all.

This brings me to my October post. Since working at the most colorful, fun, lively, and adorable shop in the DC area, I've noticed a little change in my precious home board. Lawd knows I barely have time to pin anymore, but when I do, I notice some trends to my liking. These make me want to paint things and buy pretty things. But let's be real, I'm broke, ain't got time, etc etc.

A girl can dream though? 

whimsical patterns

One thing I must say I'm good at (among everything, obviously) is making patterns. Though these are not mine (I wish), they are entirely representative of who I am as a designer. The cute, adorable shapes and colors that just make you all warm and fuzzy inside. No joke, I would have the two on the right as wallpaper in a heartbeat. Maybe not that intense, but I would definitely think about it.

I designed some carpet for corridors in apartment buildings when I was at my interior design internship. It was something completely new and different than what I had been doing in school. Keeping in mind where doors were going to be placed, making sure the corridor was telling a story down the hall... I was all, whaaa? Typically I think carpets such as these (similar to ones in newer hotels) are way overkill in a space, but it was fun to play with pattern. My boss even commended me on my pattern making skills using some shapes found in a Charley Harper book. Boom.

Speaking of wallpaper... Some favs:

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