thanksgiving p.2

| December 17, 2010

Pictures from a month ago: Spending time in South Bend, hanging out and collaborating with the Keatings, admiring Geoff’s handmade furniture, and filling up on fish and chips and more delicious Irish food at Fiddler’s Hearth. Good times.

It took a while, but I finally finished shooting the film from the disposable. I didn’t realize so many stores stopped processing film, so it took a few stops before finding a place. But after cleaning and trying to get the levels right on this roll and the last, I think Wolf’s Camera is the only place I’ve been happy with. Maybe when this new year begins I can start saving up for a digital camera or a film/developing fund.

handmade presents

| December 12, 2010

One more week until Christmas break. (yippee) I’m planning on making a few handmade presents for some of my family this year.

My sister Tien made us over 1000 of these paper cranes for our wedding present, and I’m still blown away at how tiny and thoughtful they are. I hope time and creativity will be on my side.

funk

| December 6, 2010

I got stuck in a funk for most of the weekend. A staring-at-the-ceiling funk. A why am I in a funk, I don’t know, get your butt out of bed funk. Thankfully it began to clear up towards the end. Walking around, organizing the room, baking, and a late-night block printing session with B while the cookies cooled worked as a nice distraction. And we cleared out a part of the room for me to work in, so hopefully I can stay on top on all the to-dos much better.

My first formal observation is tomorrow. I’m hoping to kick this week’s butt.

interwebs

| December 5, 2010

Thank you, internet.

  1. Seeing old and new work on The Heads of State’s new website. They only get better and better.
  2. Being inspired by Patrick Morgan’s illustrations. This hand drawn/digital ad for Reiss is my favorite.
  3. Watching this holiday store fill up with great gifts. Opens tomorrow.
  4. Driving to the store soon after reading the Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe on Orangette.
  5. Reading Sweet Fine Day daily. Great writing, pictures, and sometimes a video that’ll melt your heart.

there are places I remember

| November 27, 2010

I definitely got a little teary-eyed when the Dome came into view on our drive from Chicago to South Bend. This trip back to Notre Dame was a long time coming. It was my first time back in more than 3 years, and I’ve been thinking about when I’d return ever since the day I left. Finally, many things (a friend’s wedding, the holidays, my sister’s vacation, collaborations, etc.) fell into place and we got the opportunity to spend an entire week visiting all our favorite spots (a.k.a. restaurants/bars) and people (a.k.a. teachers, bosses, family members, and fellow married couples). We could go on and on about how special this place is to us, but I’ll try to sum it up: this is where we met, where we forged lasting bonds and planted the seeds for later friendships

more pictures here. I took a disposable for our trip and I’m not too happy with how the first one was developed and scanned (lots of scratches and dust), but the second roll will be up once it’s finished.

nesting

| November 15, 2010

We’ve lived in our place for 5 months and this weekend, we put the first two nails in our wall. Finally. Of course there’re still unopened frames and boxes from our last place—and posters and art we keep meaning to hang if we can find the time to remember where they’re stored. I think we’re so used to constantly moving and things changing that it takes some getting used to being settled for a while. Hopefully we can make it our own before the lease is up, eh?

  1. Old painting from college
  2. Cubby organizer from Pottery Barn we bought with a gift card. Still figuring out where to put it and what it’ll hold.

saturday inspiration

| November 13, 2010

We woke up at 5:30 this morning after accidentally falling asleep early and watched an episode of Friday Night Lights. I stumbled across this video about Milton Glasser on Hillman Curtis. They have a really great Artist Series you can download. I think I’ll start off Monday’s class with one of these.

perks

| November 8, 2010

Monday perks

  1. Getting to wear tights for the first time in a while
  2. B saving me a gigantic cookie from his work meeting

snippets

| November 7, 2010

It’s finally getting chilly in Houston! So happy!

Pictures from this weekend

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  1. I skipped Friday’s dinner and slept for 14+ hours. Bedhead at its best. Time for a haircut.
  2. We enjoyed breakfast at Nikos Nikos in Market Square. Breakfast Falafel and Nikoritas.
  3. I finally have a registration station. Looks simple, but it took my dad’s help plus lots of sanding & multiple trips to the hardware store. At least one of us is handy.
  4. Advent calendar from Central Market. I cheated and ate Day 1 already. Shhh.
  5. Hubs at his office.
  6. We tried to replicate La Madeleine’s Country Potato Soup. The ingredients weren’t too specific but we did mash the potatoes at the end and added chopped leeks to garnish. It was delicious.