Keep on creating

Since landing a full time job as a designer I’ve found it harder and harder to want to work on projects of my own after a long day of sitting in front of a computer screen. I’ve been telling myself over and over again that I will start on all of these personal projects I’ve been thinking up but the motivation is lost so easily when I see my comfy bed when I walk through the door. Regardless of how tired I’m feeling I realize that I need to continuously push myself. I won’t get anywhere by letting myself burn out. Yes, it’s a good thing to relax every now and again but if I want to reach my goals and continue to learn I need to take action. I need to keep on creating.

Like I said in a previous post I’ve been practicing calligraphy. I have daydreams of taking on fun hand lettering projects and when I told Aaron that today he made such a good point, why am I not showcasing that work? He’s completely right. I don’t have a portfolio showcasing any of that work because I’ve been holding myself back with excuses of “I’m not good enough” and “I’m too tired.” I’ve become so complacent that I’m not pushing myself to learn and grow. And that sucks to think about.

So what I’m trying to say is push yourself. I’ve come to the harsh realization that my goals aren’t going to be met by sitting around or sleeping. Goals will be met with hard work and motivation. So cheers to that. I’m going to be spending this weekend writing out all of my goals and setting deadlines for myself. The only way to get shit handled is to actually do something about it.

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An Update

It’s time for another update!

Last weekend Aaron and I made a quick trip to Las Vegas for business(for him). We were only there for a day but it was so nice to catch up with old friends, try a new restaurant, drink bloody mary’s and grab dinner with my Dad. It’s was super hot there and made me so happy we live in San Diego where the weather is constantly 70 degrees.

With moving into the new apartment we’ve been trying to watch our spending, which means eating at home more often. It’s not necessarily a bad thing because we’ve also been eating a lot healthier. This week included roasted salmon, asparagus and a fun mix of quinoa, green beans, black beans, broccoli and sriracha. The best. And Aaron has even admitted that he likes cooking chicken. Not complaining, love having the extra help in the kitchen. Did I mention our new apartment won’t have an oven? Yup. We’re getting a grill for the patio and we’ll at least have a stove so I can’t imagine it being too bad.

And lastly, I’ve been practicing calligraphy a lot over the past couple weeks. You can see some of it in my last two posts here + here and I’m thinking when my new website launches you’ll be seeing more of this. It’s so fun and I love that it adds my own personal touch to each post.

This week went by so fast! I’m so happy it’s Friday already. Excited to get some necessary errands done and for a fun date planned on Sunday morning. Enjoy the weekend! xo

Damn You Art School

I stumbled across this site yesterday and am so blown away. I don’t know about you but as a designer myself I love coming across sites that offer knowledge and resources. I gobble that.shit.up. This site is essentially a gathering of apps for invoicing, drawing, project management, file storage, you name it. Anything you use for yourself or as a business owner this site has all of that for you(and not just for designers!). Essentially all the stuff they didn’t offer you in art school. It’s beautifully designed too. Check it out!

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Plants

Good news! We got approved for the apartment! I was so relieved to find out that we had gotten approved and now I’m so excited to start planning out how everything will look. I know for certain that with all of the natural light coming in(you can take a peek here) that I definitely want to take this opportunity to have a ton of plants in the apartment and on the patio. I’ve never been good at taking care of them, partially because I forget to water them but mostly because we’ve been living in an apartment that rarely gets a lot of sunlight because we’re facing another apartment building. Yes, it’s as miserable as it sounds. So I’m excited to give it another go. I love the idea of having them hanging from the ceiling and sitting on top of bookshelves. I would absolutely love to find a cart like the one pictured above to place plants on top. Have you had any luck keeping plants alive? I hope I’m not getting in over my head!

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WEEKLINKS

Remember when I told you all that I was going to run a 5k? Well I ran it last weekend! Correction* I ran-speed-walked it. Ha! It was also cut short by a mile, don’t even know how that happened. The organization that put it together probably could’ve checked that beforehand. But I stuck to it and made it through. And honestly, it was probably the best first “5K” I could have done because it was so fun getting sprayed with paint and running it with a great group of girl friends. Of course, we celebrated by eating pizza afterwards. Anyways, onto some links for your week!

I absolutely love this ampersand series. via

These vintage style Mad Men posters.

Another great illustration by Lauren Hom. Love that she is still keeping up with this project, I blogged about her here too.

Love these paintings by artist, Louise Overgaard.

Lovely branding for this Browns Court bakery designed by studio Nudge.