Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Screech Owl Designs

I'm kind of obsessed with these illustrations from Screech Owl Design. They're fun, quirky, adorable, goofy, and they make my heart smile; which is basically the reason we buy anything, right? Right! 

I first stumbled upon Screech Owl Design through Instagram, and immediately fell in love. I've always been a sucker for illustrations of little creatures, and I truly hit the jack pot with Screech Owl! The illustrations create such a fun mood for me when I look at them, especially the ones that kind of make no sense. (A monkey and a telephone because why not? Side note: The zodiac cards are my favorite!) Sceech Owl Design illustrator Jacqueline Schmidt does a remarkable job of creating unique, interesting, and fun drawings. The about section on her website says it best, "Her colorful patterns and signature quirk create a unique habitat where wildlife and wing chairs go hand in hand", and who doesn't want to be in a habitat like that? 

You can check out Screech Owl Design's website here. 
You can follow their Instagram for quirky, cute inspirations here. (It's a treat for me on my newsfeed!)
You can support Jacqueline Schmidt's art via Facebook here. 
AND even more excitingly, you can click here to snag a bag featuring Screech Owl Designs cuteness from birka.com!


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Saturday, March 15, 2014

These Days: Positive Practice

These days, I've been focusing a lot on bettering myself in a lot of different ways. Having the huge realization this month that both happiness and creativity take practice has put me in the mind set to really try. I've been listening to more great music, practicing more painting/drawing/song writing, as well as practicing more compassion. I think it's an important concept to understand that happiness, compassion, creativity, and anything positive really takes practice. If you ever feel like expanding yourself and your own horizons, I highly recommend the book pictured below, "The Art of Happiness". My favorite aspect of the book is that it keeps religion out of it. Reactions, feelings, actions, emotions are either negative or positive; moral "correctness" has absolutely zero to do with it. No matter what your religion or spirituality, there is always something out there to learn more about and understand. And just like everything else, understanding takes practice.


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Monday, February 10, 2014

InstaUpdate!

 A little bossy, but whatever.

 Just some doodling I did while listening to music, in between Tumblr "reblogs".

 A silhouette painting I did of Bob Dylan. My obsession only grows stronger with age.

 A shameless selfie. A "mirror pic", no less! Can't stop... Won't stop...

 This is Portland's "snow storm". Adorable! In all seriousness, I would like to thank the city of Portland for being so overwhelmingly safe. I enjoyed not leaving my apartment for three days - Sincerely!

 Isn't this cozy, and so tumblr of me?

 Kind of, sort of, madly in love with these clogs. If it has an ankle strap in any way, I want it.

 Duck fat fries while bowling! For every carbohydrate burned, two more were gained!

 Venturing out during my retailing class to see how other stores decorated. This little store got the dang thing done I thought!

 Bob and the Monster! If you're a fan of Thelonious Monster, Red Hot Chili Peppers, or the early 1980s Hollywood punk scene, watch this movie. I was feeling totally inspired after.

 I just love the way my cat somehow takes on the shape of a cinnamon roll or some other dough-y substance when she's laying down. Her wedging herself between my boyfriend and I just sort of added to the cuteness.

 Gorgeous shoes spied in a waiting room. On my feet, no less.

 Kitty and Lisa Frank had one wild night by the looks of it. Better let her sleep this one off.

 Obsession growing with age, blahblahblah.

Free People. Need I say any more?

I hope you guys enjoy these posts because I really enjoy posting them! It's nice to recap and remind myself of all the little moments I've compiled. I completely forgot about how much fun Matt and I had snuggling up for Bob and The Monster, and how delicious those duck fat fries were when bowling. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to some outfit photos once the weather turns into something a little more pleasing!

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Friday, August 30, 2013

Insta-recap!

Hey everyone! Suffice to say, August has not been the month I had hoped it would be blogging wise. I didn't expect to be so busy! Between school, having my best friend visit for a week, then having my brother and his girlfriend up for a few days, I just didn't have any time! September will hopefully allow for me to be a little more dedicated. I think dedication is an important thing to have when blogging; who's going to care about your blog if even you don't care? I just wanted to take a second before a little end of the month life-recap brought to you by Instagram to say that I do, in fact, care! I just haven't had enough time to show it! I'm definitely going to be working on my time management skills. The way I see it, if you ever want your blog to be successful or to be seen by anybody, you need to almost treat it like a job! The tricky part for me is treating it like a job while still having it be a fun outlet for myself. Anyways! Enough about that, just expect more from me in the following months! Without any further a-do, my insta-life! 

This picture was taken last month on my trip back to Alaska for some doctors visits. I know I've posted since then on the blog, but it was just such a beautiful picture, I felt the need to share in case any of you aren't following me on Instagram. It's funny to me that Oregonians think of themselves as really earthy and natural, and I'm sure as a whole state, they are. The difference between the natural attitude of Oregon and the natural attitude of Alaska, is that Alaska is wild. It's something that I've taken for granted when I lived there, but moving out into the "real world", in a city where the population is 50x that of the town I grew up in, I really miss Alaska. As sheltered as a place as it is, there's something beautiful about the fact that I saw more views like the one above than I did shopping malls, Starbucks, or Walmarts. I definitely wouldn't trade where I grew up for the world, because it is honestly the most beautiful place I've ever seen, including in person as well as in photos. Nothing beats wild Alaska. :)
You probably noticed this one if you saw my last few outfit posts, but I cut my hair super short! Shorter than before, that is. I was getting bored with it (surprise, surprise) and loved the way Michelle Williams looked with her super short hair. I have to say, even though sometimes I wish for long beautiful hair to curl and style, I just cannot see myself taking the time! I guess I'm just not that kind of girl. 

I just really loved the way this photo came out. My facial expression isn't the prettiest, my posture isn't either, the background looks unkempt, but I think that's why I find the picture beautiful. (Note: I find the picture, not myself, beautiful!) My boyfriend took this picture of me in an old car lot for one of my outfit posts, and now I'm trying to find a good way to edit all my photos in an Instagram like fashion! It's been done a lot, but I still think it gives the video a certain "feeling", which is good for any blog. 

Just some of the stuff I was working on for one of my classes at the Art Institute. I was pretty happy with how they came out, but most importantly, my teacher was happy with how they came out. It was drawings for a fall/winter collection. My favorite is either of the jackets - Not bad for not being a design student! Though the class I accidentally took on fashion illustration definitely helped out!

This is my best friend Gabby! She came to visit me for a week. I had a lot of fun with her here. I realize every time I have company, that I don't know this city as well as I should by now. I haven't really done anything super fun here yet, I don't have any good "haunts". What I do know is that, when it comes to shopping, I'm the best guide there is! This is just a photo of us taking a break from the hustle and bustle (Ha. Ha. Ha.) of Portland life to grab some sushi and a delicious mocktail. :)

Voodoo doughnuts! So many fun and ridiculous flavors. The line is always outrageously long, but I still think it's worth it. I don't know what they put in their frosting, but it is so delicious. My boyfriend Matt, Gabby, and I each got a "fun" one, as well as a dozen of the classics! Mine is the voodoo doll one at the top - Mmmm.

The three of us also took a trip to Seaside, OR! It was SO nice to get out of the city and into nature for a bit. I don't know how to swim, but it was so relaxing to just lay by the beach and listen to the waves. I didn't get as great of a tan as Matt did, but I was pretty satisfied. :)

I thought I should at least post one picture of Matthew! This was right after we checked out of this sleazy motel in Seaside. We stayed the night, and thought it would be cool to sleep on the beach. We forgot that it's coldest by the water, and around 8:00PM when the sun was setting and the fog was rolling in, we decided we were going to freeze if we didn't find a place to sleep indoors. The only place we could find was this pretty sketchy motel - It was a night of take out pizza, Disney channel, and being scared of the neighbors. Definitely wouldn't change a thing. 

While Gabby was here, we went to at least 3 separate psychics. One of them from Seaside was amazing, and we felt really satisfied with her reading. It left us wanting more so we went to another in Seaside, who wasn't as good and charged twenty dollars more! It happens sometimes. The one pictured above was here in Portland, at the Saturday Market. She only costs 10 dollars. Gabby wasn't as happy with her reading as I was, but how much can you really expect for 10 dollars? It was still fun!

Lastly, I of course have to post a picture of my little Princess! She is so cute. She makes my days so much better, whether I'm having a good day or bad. Her little serious face! She's always so sweet and loving, she loves snuggling, playing, following me around, and demanding attention! She's a little goof, and I am so so glad to call her mine! <3
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