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!