YEAH THEY ARE!

Lovin this! Especially now that its swim suit season!

via Friends of Type, by Eric Merinovic.

EVER AND EVER

Such creative wedding invitations by Oh So Beautiful Paper. The copy and the design are great... anyone but the bride, I love it. My favorite is the big brown bag and yellow flowers!

GENTS HEAD TO PORTLAND

With all this excitement about the Mumford and Son's "Gentlemen of the Road Tour" coming to the Eastern Prom (my beloved neighborhood here in lovely Portland, ME), I thought I'd check it out and try to get some more deets, like... when the heck are tickets going to be for sale?  What I found was some beautiful logo and website design.  Very clean and simple, very in tune (haha) with the Mumford and Sons brand. Love it.

For information about the show in Portland this summer on August 4th, check out iloveportlandme.com.  See ya there! Fingers crossed it actually happens...

UPDATE: Get your tickets here! http://www.gentlemenoftheroad.com/portland/

THE RALEIGH

I'm back! I took a little longer break than anticipated but I needed it.  You know those days when you just sleep forever and realize how exhausted your body was? Like that.  Anywho, nothing like a little vacay to sort things out! 

I stayed in this amazing hotel in Miami called The Raleigh.  It's in South Beach in the Art Deco district, which was so cool!  Walking around looking at the architecture in this area was really great, the buildings have such huge impact when they are all packing in together.  The Raleigh was super classy, and I just loved all the attention to detail, the patterns, and the type.How amazing is that POOL!!  So fun to swim in, I felt like a movie star for sure. Looking forward to sharing more of my trip with you... A nice change from all the New England content. Cheers! and happy monday.

B-EAUTIFUL

Orange. My front door growing up was orange, and it has always stuck with me. Incredibly energizing and refreshingly BOLD.  So for today... "Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid" -Goethe

Images via 1, 2, 3.

CONFESSION: I'M A BOOK JUDGE

I actually do think you should judge books by their covers.  Especially these treasures.  I stumbled across them last week on Grady's tumblr and pinned them, but couldn't stop thinking about the typography and illustration! So for you, beautiful cover art design by Grady McFerrin... Aren't they mesmerizing?  It makes me so happy to know that some where, right now, someone gets to hold this, and read it, and admire the cover, every day. I like books.

The color, the lettering, the graphics, oh my! So fresh. Which is your favorite?

PATIENCE, PRESENCE, PERSEVERANCE

I guess its time I shared my personal mantra with all of you. It started as a new year's resolution that would be easy to remember, easy to repeat, and had rhythm almost like a chant.  That was 2009.  Three years later those three little words have gotten me through a lot.  Patience is an obvious one.  Presence; to me, means that you are present in your life, you are aware, and you are open and available to take advantage of any opportunity that may cross your path. Perseverance? Basically don't give up, don't listen to the naysayers, and you will come out on top.  Together these words are the secret to success (you could throw in positivity as a fourth "P" but you have to be positive to persevere, be patient, and present... so its a moot point).  Thats my inspiration for the day, take from it what you will, I hope it helps you as much as it has me.  And now for for the pretty things... in honor of stickin' to your guns, here are some words to get you thinking about the new year ahead. Cheers!!!

Top illustration by Ann Shen (check out her blog... its great!) came to me via Pinterest, but the original source is here. "Haters Gonna Hate T-Shirt" can be purchased here.

With Love

I AIN'T SCARED

Every time I tell someone I live in Maine, I get a long pause, and a... "Isn't it really cold up there?" Well, yes, kind sir, it is cold, very very cold, and yes I choose to live here.  Winter is beautiful, and if you love it, it will love you back. So cozy and magical... I am not afraid of snow.  And yes, I'll get sick of shoveling, but until then I am going to love winter.

Source 1 (one of my favorite typography blogs, Friends of Type), Source 2

ITALIAN EYE CANDY

Majorly inspired by this Italian candy box and I think it pairs nicely with these Muriel Brandolini fabrics which I adore.  Obsessed with these colors, they are so divine!

1, 2, 3

FREEZE POPS

Oh my goodness... we made it to Friday. Wooohooo!!!

Dying to make some of these frozen fruit pops, or Mexican Paletas. So easy, so fun, so delicious! I think I've found my Saturday activity.  Peach, Apricot, Orange... I can't decide.  But I wish I was eating them right now, outside in the sun, on a blanket made from this beautiful fabric.  Recipe below...

Spicy Peach Paletas

What you'll need...

5 Large Ripe Peaches

1 Bucket of Ice Water

1/2 Cup Pure Cane Sugar

1 Lemon

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

2 Teaspoons of Chili Powder (O.H. Recommended)

Pinch of Salt

1/4 Cup of Milk

How to make it...

Score each peach with an "X" on the bottom opposite stem side.

Blanch in boiling water for no more than 1 minute.

Drop into ice bath, this should make the skin peel off easily... (peel off skin).

Liquify sugar, juice of one lemon, cinnamon, chili powder, pinch of salt, and milk in blender.

Pour into popsicle mold, freeze, and enjoy!!

(This recipe and popsicle image was found here, on "Things Wot I Made Then Ate", its an amazing food blog I just discovered, I LOVE how she explains everything and with such witty humor. AWESOME. Definitely going to be a regular reader from now on...)

Happy summer, people.  

This weekend, I am takin' it easy... have a wonderful weekend!

("Frozen", Apricots in blue bowl, Orange and Blue Fabric by Margaret Ladner)

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER

LOVE this!

(Type, Wallpaper Pattern)

AND I'LL CRY IF I WANT TO

Well folks, I made it to a quarter of a century. Pretty crazy... living on this earth for 25 years.  I have had a lot of great birthdays: pool parties, hair care, cowboys and indians, Whirly Ball, Wet 'n Wild, backpacking trips, concerts, Camp Ozark, and LOTS of times on a ranch in Wyoming.

It is amazing what you can accomplish in a year (not all good stuff of course), and every year just gets better as we grow up.  25 is going to be a monumental year for me; there are lots of changes coming my way, but I plan to face them head on and with extreme enthusiasm! Im so pumped!

 Thanks to all who made this day so special, Cheers!

(Vintage album cover source, "Hey Ya'll" Sign)

FACE OFF

This town had some killer inspiration for type face. Amazing lettering everywhere I went, so unique and bold with a little western flair. Perfect for a little funky town like Eureka Springs, AR.  The Basin Park Hotel is the only one in the world (may want to check my facts on that one...) where every floor is the first floor because it is built up the side of a mountain, how cool!  Great place for a wedding if you are in the market!

I can't wait to share the rest of the pictures from my trip, we had some great photographers with us this weekend...