Alaska via Instagram

A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to get to travel to Alaska for work! It was beyond amazing - the most breathtaking views, the coldest I think I've ever been in my life (a close tie with Budapest in the middle of winter in 2006 and Argentina in the middle of winter in 2010), and some pretty unique experiences. We stayed in a small ski resort town about 45 minutes outside of Anchorage called Alyeska. We spent a day at an old mining town called Crow Creek Mine where there were tons of little rustic cabins and mining shacks covered in antlers and rusty metal. There was so much snow I would sometimes take a step and sink all the way down to my waist. My most favorite part of the trip was when we got to go to a Wild Animal preserve and meet a bunch of adorable animals, including a giant porcupine named Snickers, some really friendly moose who loved to eat whole bananas (including the peel!), a herd of buffalo, reindeer, and some black bears. Even though the trip was for work, it was such a refreshing break from being in the office, I left feeling so inspired! These are a few of my favorite shots I snapped with my iphone while I was there, but like most photos they just don't do the place justice.

Peanut Butter

This video makes me really happy - a surfer's love for her board, and a happy song to go with it.

Max's Birthday Fiesta Invites

My little nephew Max turns ONE today! I can't believe it's already been a year - I feel like it was just yesterday that I was talking about Hanna's Baby Shower on this blog. We are celebrating this weekend, fiesta style, and these are the invites I made for his party. Happy Birthday MAX!

bonjour & buon giorno

My friend Lauren wrote this quote in the birthday card she gave me, and I absolutely love it.

(not sure of the original source)

sea treasures

One of my favorites. Happy Friday and Happy Spring!

DVF loves Roxy

Obsessed with my new DVF loves Roxy fin, I need to find a place to display this beauty! DVF teamed up with Roxy to do an amazing collaboration - DVF prints meet Roxy bikinis. Designing the Roxy.com DVF site was a big project I've been working on the last few months, it finally launched a few weeks ago. Check out the site and get it before it's all gone! 

playing with paper

Chopped up some old magazines, made some random collages - a few became cards. It feels good to play with paper and glue sometimes.

Spring Pinspiration

A few pins I've been inspired by lately - love the minty fresh and coral colors of spring.

All images via my Pinterest.

Spring Wishlist

March is my birthday month, and usually about the time I do some spring cleaning and have my eye on some cute new things to freshen up my house/closet/life, and my birthday is always a good excuse! These are a few things I've had my eye on lately:

1. Design is a Job, a book recommended to be my a good design friend - amazon hookin' it up!

2. Copper business card holder - gettin' my networking on these days - from here

3. White + Neon Coral + Birds (I know, right?!) bedspread from Anthro

4. The perfect summer clutch, simple and casual - get it here

5. To replace my broken Anthro wedges, these would go with everything! (size 8) Shoemint

6. Brent - I've bought you 3 surfboards :) 6'0

7. Another year older, so definitely need this (to go with that board) here's some

Love disappoints us.

I don't normally post things like this, but I was really inspired by a recent chapter in a book I've been reading, Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky, and wanted to share. Scott shared a quote by Jonathan Harris (above) that really put the way I feel about a lot of my projects into perspective. I'm super passionate, especially when it comes to my work - I pour my heart and soul into every project I work on, and give it my complete all, often finding myself coming out of that project disappointed with the outcome, no matter how hard I have worked. But because I love what I do, love being creative, love the process of creating and problem solving through design, like Scott said, it's inevitable that I will often be let down, disappointed by this love. But this is a good, inspiring reminder that if you can find a way to 'keep the love alive' in your career and your work, it can push you to some really amazing places, even with that feeling of disappointment. Belsky also brings up another old quote: "How do you get someone to stop enjoying what they love to do? Pay them to do it." As I struggle to find balance between my passions and my career, I have to find a way to keep this 'love affair' with design alive while also getting the bills paid. Anyone have any advice?