And this is what we'll be listening to...

I love this band. I adore this song. I think the use of Bande À Parte for the video was undeniably genius. Listen to the Love Language & be happy all the time.

Love, me.

Happy, Happy, Happy 4th!

Awesomely yummy looking donuts by Krispy Kreme.
Photographed and eaten (well, just a couple) by me.
(I'm from North Carolina...it's mandatory, I swear.)

I hope everyone has an amazing, exciting, and adventurous fourth! It doesn't matter where you are...have a blast. You don't need an excuse to have an amazing day, right? As for me, I'm going to take the kids to see the fireworks over Raleigh. After the show, we'll go for a drive, listen to music, and try to find a few stray explosions on the way home. This is what we do every year, and it's always perfect.

Would you like to know something strange? I've never taken a picture of fireworks. Never, ever, ever. Maybe I should give that a shot (har, har) this year. 

I'll be back on Thursday with some free textures for you! Hurrah!

About Me: Family, Part One (Shenanniegans)

This is Annie. Her official title at the craft shows I work is "Official Helper and Change-Giver." She has a name tag that says this and takes her duties very seriously. In return for her hard work, she's usually rewarded with five dollars and something to eat from the food trucks that surround the shows we attend. (This past weekend, she got the most amazing milkshake from The Parlour's food truck in Durham. Thank you, Parlour, for making our day a whole lot nicer.)

At home, she's Banannie. She has this nickname, not because it's an easy rhyme, but because she's more monkey than monkey. She's always running and climbing and breaking. She'd rather get in trouble and deal with the consequences than avoid it and be good, which is apparently boring. She rides horses like she was born to do it; on her second lesson, she had her horse loping around the ring until the dust was so thick, you couldn't see either one of them. (Her fifth time on a horse, just this May, she placed first in an all-ages competition, beating her high school and college-aged teachers.)

She's fearless, smart, quick-witted, and kind. She's an awesome snuggler. As you can see by the photos here, she's incredibly adorable, full of personality, and loves it when I take her picture (which is pretty much several times a day.) She's my youngest, and I'm absolutely in awe of her.

Slack No More

To celebrate the end of my extended blog hibernation (yaaaawwwn,) I'd like to share a lovely little coupon with you. Please feel free to take 25% off of your entire order by using coupon code "ADDITUP". This coupon is good through July 15, 2012, and works in my shop and my Etsy shop. You can even use it more than once! I love summer; it makes me feel all carefree and happy and generous. Enjoy it!

I'll be back to regular blogging soon, and I hope you'll join me! Thanks bunches.

Spring Music Mix: The Lovely 50

Hooray for March! I don't care if it's 50 degrees and cloudy...I'm going to listen to my favorite springtime songs and be happy. I'll be the first to admit that my spring soundtrack tends to be fluffy & light, but who wants soporific and ponderous when everything's so full of possibility? (However, if you're the person who likes to drive through the country admiring the blossoming trees, watching the nesting birds, and listening to Metal Machine Music, I have to admit I'm intrigued.) Anyway, I hope you like it. I think it's pretty lovely. (Note: I didn't put any Beatles songs on it because then there would have been 50 Beatles songs on it. That's its own mix for another day.) 


The mix is right here on Spotify. Aaand, as a super-special bonus gift from me, all orders placed through June 1 will include a mix CD featuring some of these songs. Swingin' cover included. Click below for the track listing.

My Favorite Things: March 13, Music Edition

How incredible is Methane Studios? I'd seen their posters, but I hadn't put a name with them until I heard about their exhibit at the phenomenal Amplified Art in Raleigh. I totally love their style.

There's a neat online shop I discovered recently called Domestica, and they have a swell selection of posters (amongst many other neat things! Check out their beautiful shop.) A few by The Bubble Process  stood out...they're imaginative, unique, and eye-catching. 

One of my favorite sites on the internet is Poster Cabaret. If I played and then won the lottery, I truly think I'd buy one of everything. The talent and creativity of the artists is just awe-inspiring...sometimes it makes me want to draw, sometimes it makes me never want to draw again. It always makes me want to buy stuff. Aesthetic Apparatus has so many fantastic prints, and it was hard to choose just one to share here. I chose their Bob Pollard poster because a)I have a GBV obsession, a little, and b)the silhouette is just too awesome. Seriously. 

(It really rocks, doesn't it? Classic pose.)

Valhalla Studios is another design team that deserves multiple posts. I just realized that one of the artists is the always incredible Tad Carpenter (thanks, Grain Edit, for the excellent interview), so you know it's all gonna be so much good. I chose this poster because I'm a sucker for that retro style, and old-timey baseball players are just the coolest.

I think I might continue this all week long, so please keep checking back. Also, I'm going to share a spring music mix later today, and if it's sunny and lovely where you are, I guarantee it's the perfect soundtrack. (If it's cold and icky, it'll reassure you that spring is on its way, I promise!)

Finally, don't forget to check out my new shop, and use code "ohblog" for free shipping (and maybe some little surprises, too!) The code expires at the end of April, so you have a little time to shop, but it won't last forever.

Feelin' Pretty Spectacular

Hello. What have I been doing, you ask? (Why, thank you!) I've been working on putting a little shop together. I know, you wouldn't think it would be so difficult and time-consuming, what with it being little and all, but please remember I have kids and constant chaos and all of that. It's a wonder I don't prepay for gas and drive away without filling up the car! (Oh, wait, I just did that.) So, look at me, here I am:

Silver Satellite Studios!

There's so much more to come. If you see something you like in the shop, use coupon code "ohblog" for free shipping. Thanks bunches!

It's Spring Again

JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh NC. (If you're a local, or you're visiting the lovely city of Rrrrrraleigh, you *must* stop by the arboretum. There's such an incredible variety of flowers and trees, and it's gorgeous and peaceful all year long.)

This time of year is just perfect.

My Favorite Things: February 28

I love reading Pikaland. It's always such an inspiration, and full of great advice, too. Awesomeness.

How About Orange is always quality...great links, neat crafts, swell printables.

Crazy about Javier Garcia. Fantastico design.

Spring is sooo close now! One of my favorite springtime bands is Beulah. They make the best roll-your-windows-down, blue sky music. Put "When your Heartstrings Break" and "The Coast is Never Clear" on your iPod now and go for a drive!

I adore you, Tiny Showcase.

Let's Get Lost: February, Still

(Sorry for the week-long break from blogging! My husband took time off of work so we could do fun stuff, like painting our bathroom and our son's room, cleaning out closets, and scrubbing down the laundry room. We're all exhausted and feeling slightly triumphant. I still make time to get lost, though...these shots taken in Creedmoor, NC. Is there anything better than fog and early morning sunshine? I think not.)

Let's Get Lost: February

I've always loved long drives. As soon as I got my license, my younger sister and I would go to the gas station to get the biggest fountain drinks they had, turn up the stereo, and drive for hours. We wouldn't stray too far from the places we knew...that was before we had GPS and awesome phones, and honestly, I didn't trust her with a map. Also, you really want to know where you are in eastern Kentucky.

Things have changed, and they haven't. I still love to drive, and I love to get lost. I love that I live in a place that's close to the city, but it's also possible to end up down a dirt road surrounded by decaying tobacco sheds and abandoned farm houses. Instead of my sister, I now drag along my three patient kids. They've gotten really good at spotting things I like to photograph...an old barn in the woods, a horse grazing in an empty field, strange signs, interesting architecture. I pack snacks, and instead of loud music, we usually have an audiobook for entertainment. (They have good taste in music, though, so I can get by with listening to it sometimes.) I feel a little safer going on roads off of roads off of roads I stumble across, having both the GPS and the phone ready (and a road atlas, just in case.)

The part of me that still longs to be an archaeologist desperately wants to explore, to go peer in windows and sneak into the barns. The all of me that is a mom, though, demands I have to quickly hop out of the car, stay beside it, take a fast photo or two, hop back in and go. I tell myself it adds to the adventure.

Summer/Winter

This summer:





Same place, January 17, 2012

Font Bliss

Lost Type makes nothing but beautiful fonts. Seriously. They're all perfect, and they're also free. Free! Holy cow. (There is a payment option, though, so reward them for all their awesomeness.) Check these out:





If you've ever wondered what a font factory looks like, why, it's every bit as stylish as you'd imagine:

(All images from Lost Type.)

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all

(It's true!)

My Favorite Things: February 14

This is what I'm stuck on this week. I insist you check them out.

This! The Love Language + Godard. It's just perfect. If you've not listened to the Love Language yet, I'll wait here while you download their albums. I adore them. They play around here all the time, but I only just got to see them last September when they played the Hopscotch festival. They were awesome.

Grain Edit, one of my favorite art + design blogs

I'm not a shoe freak, but oh!-these shoes are all incredible. Swoon.

"Don't mope in your room. Go invent something." The genius "And the Pursuit of Happiness" by Maira Kalman. (How did I not hear of this sooner?)

Designbox: Raleigh gallery and shop (online, too!) featuring a bunch of really amazing local artists. I'm so glad to live in an area with such a thriving arts community.

Free Texture: Grey Weathered

Here's a photo (taken last year at the arboretum in Raleigh) using today's free texture:



Click on the picture to be taken to the download. Use in any way you'd like!

Luuuuurrrrvvve

I'm not a "heart" person, but somehow I keep taking pictures of them, and they're some of my favorites. The second picture is particularly meaningful...it's a tin sandwich cutter that belonged to my great-grandma. She made everything (everything!) by hand and from scratch, flawlessly. (That includes the shorts she made for me every year, and she used the most awful leftover fabric...ugh. I had no less than 5 pairs of paisley shorts one summer. They were very well-made, though.) Sometimes when I get frustrated while sewing or baking, I try to channel her talent, but it hasn't worked yet. Maybe someday. Her kindness and her love for her family live on through my grandpa, who learned sewing, baking, canning, and gardening from her. I beg for stories and advice every time I visit, so hopefully I can pass it down to my kids.

A Beginning

Hello! I've worked on several blogs, but it's past time I got serious with this one. I'm going to be good and post often, writing about photography and design, posting freebies, and sharing whatever makes me happy at the moment.
Right now, I'm very silly about Valentine's Day. I know people like to take shots at it, but I think it's sweet and lovely. There are trillions of nifty little crafts to be made, and you can be mushier than normal and no one can hold it against you. I'm lucky to have four swell valentines: my husband and my three truly incredible kids.
This is going to be fun. Thanks for joining me!