Month: March 2019

sweater weather.

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I have a secret. I love sweaters but I never wear them outside because I feel too comfortable and it looks like I’m wearing pajamas. It’s probably because I buy a size or two up for extra comfy feels. 😉 But, I have a really really fun collection of graphic sweaters that I want to share with you, because they are my friends – the people who design/make them, not the sweaters! Boba Milk Tea – Design and Happiness In typical me status, I met Angel of Design and Happiness at a craft show, I fangirled, and now I own things she makes! 🙂 I want to wear this every time I get boba… Panda Ice Cream – Design and Happiness Also from Angel – panda ice cream. 🙃 I can’t with this. Cat Dot Moons – Slow Moon Rise My friend An Li of Slow Moon Rise designs and screen prints apparel in her Berkeley studio. She also prints T-shirts, tanks, and scarves. This moon cat print is a favorite among my maker friends. …

retirement.

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My old coworker remembered that I do crafty things and she asked me to help create some decor for her husband’s retirement celebration. She requested signage, a guest book station, and party favors.  They planned to have a garden party so I kept with greens for the garlands.  I lettered some chalkboards for a welcome sign and the dessert table. And a sign for the guestbook station, too. To keep the garden theme going, I found botanical postcards for guests to use as guestbook note cards. And for party favors, I found a seller on Etsy that sells retire-mint Tic Tac labels to match our chalkboards. Brilliant! This was such a fun project to work on! Happy Retirement, Roland!

shop feature: long weekend.

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Yay! I’ve had Long Weekend on my list of shops to visit for a while now and when I finally did, yup, you guessed it, I was a total fangirl. Look at all the pretties! The shop owners have curated items from near and far, and they’ve got a dreamy collection of art supplies. Pens, watercolor everything, …gimme all the pretty paper journals!  Eye drool… (Is that a thing?) They have a small art gallery in the back where they feature local artists’ work. On my visit the featured artist was Maria Schoettler. The cutest part of the shop (besides these lil figurines and the shop dog Charlie): they are only open on weekends! Come visit on your next free (long) weekend!

craft + work.

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New maker friends Roberta and Abby of Craft + Work invited me to teach in their coworking space in Pacifica. During the week, this is their studio space and on the weekends they host workshops. Last weekend I taught my felt succulent garden class. New graduating class of felt succulent gardeners! And all the lovelies they made: I’m excited to be part of this community! I’ll be back in May for their 1st year anniversary celebration pop-up and in June to teach my weaving workshop!

nectar bath treats.

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The whimsical and colorful body products at Nectar Bath Treats make it feel like Spring year round! My friend and I stumbled upon this shop while strolling around the Las Vegas Strip. Body products shaped like fun desserts! Soap that looks like ice cream and macarons, pies and popsicles, and loofas shaped like ice cream in cones. So deliciously cute! They have at least two large shops on the strip (in the LINQ promenade and Venetian shops) and they ship all over. And guess what! This is a local, Las Vegas-grown business. All of the products are made in Las Vegas so obvi this was going to be the shop where I purchased all my souvenirs. I picked up some macaron soaps and a bath bomb. The scents are so good. Have you spotted any fun Las Vegas-grown shops? Share below! And Happy Spring!

las vegas: food scene.

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The Las Vegas food scene is clearly a tasty one. Here’s what we inhaled. Day 1. We arrived late in the evening, but lucky for us many Las Vegas food establishments on the strip are open until the wee hours of the morning. Our hotel also had some options to cater to our “we too lazy to go outside right now” feels. We had an almost midnight snack at Gordon Ramsey Burgers. My burger had roasted jalapeños, avocado, and grilled tomato. Tip: Get you burger medium. (I ordered medium well and it was a tad dry.) Sweet potato fries are served with a dusting of powdered sugar – a first for me and quite delightful! Day 2. Rise and shine with a smoothie from The Juice Standard. The berry smoothies were not too sweet – a perfectly refreshing way to energize the morning. You know what else energizes the morning? Bacon. We tried the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich at Egg Slut – salt and runny egg perfection. And because FOMO, we grabbed cookies for …

neon.

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Also in Vegas, I dragged my friend to the Neon Museum! Why this outdoor museum featuring old and mostly non-functioning neon signs intrigued me so much beats me, but it was awesome! I knew the signs had to be huge to light up the night sky and attract visitors but whoa, they are gigantic!! The museum is smallish and you can do a loop rather quickly, but it’s nice to stroll through and search for signs buried behind other signs. It’s also fun to stumble upon a tour to learn some sign history (If I ever go again I’d want to pay extra for the tour.) You get a pamphlet to guide you through some of the featured neon signs and there are docents throughout if you have any questions. There is so much history in the museum. It was sunny out and all the signs looked lovely against blue sky (#nofilter). There’s also a night tour and light show, but the signs didn’t have to be illuminated to appreciate the beauty of their design. …

just a girl.

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The real reason we were in Las Vegas: Gwen Stefani‘s Just A Girl residency at Planet Hollywood! We bought our tickets nearly a year ago! The entrance was almost like a Gwen history museum. Old costumes from past music videos and events were on display. We were in the VIP section (I had forgotten we purchased VIP tickets so I was super impressed by past me!) which means we were shown to our seats, and there was drink service. Per usual, Gwen was amazing and looked the same as last time (as the rest of us age), and her dancers were incredible. I want to learn all the choreography. The set was colorful, and there was confetti and lots of amazing costumes. My favorite was the one with a big blue furry pom on one of the dancer’s heads. She reminded me a Sky Dancer. There were a few nods to Vegas show girls, too – lots of feathers! The show was an hour and half (sadly, no encore). Gwen always brings the dance party …

las vegas: art and design.

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This year’s girls trip brought me and my friend to Las Vegas. I used to visit a lot as a kid (my grandma liked celebrating birthdays here). I never really understood why people liked to come back, but now I realize it’s because you can’t possibly see the whole thing in one weekend. It’s like Disneyland. On this trip I was really fascinated by all the newer casino designs and attention to detail, and all the art! Here’s my Las Vegas Art and Design Lookbook! Our Hotel (Planet Hollywood) Even the tub tile was art. Chandeliers We spent a lot of time in the Cosmopolitan because they had all the food we were interested in consuming. But I’d stay for the chandeliers! Hotel Lounges The Cosmopolitan also had this cute Alice in Wonderland themed lounge. We spent two meal times here. My favorite detail: the cat on the ceiling. Ceilings, Walls, and Floors Make sure to look up, down, and all over for design inspo. Shopping This is by far my favorite H&M. There was …

international women.

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Yesterday was International Women’s Day. To celebrate, I participated in Zynga’s International Women’s Day festivities at their headquarters in San Francisco. They hosted a maker pop-up with women-owned businesses. Shout out to my friend Mimi of Hello Shiso for suggesting my business for the event! Here’s a before and after of my booth space. I brought all the flowers, pennants, and of course, Boss Lady wall hangings. We set up in the communal / cafeteria area, and Zynga provided all the tables and linens – made my crafty life so easy! Bonus: we got to partake in all the Zynga goodies! Bevvies, foods, and snacks! Mmm. But the stars of the event: these movers and shakers! I met so many wonderful ladies who make and curate wonderful goodies! Featured biz ladies: Gal Collective / Colorfuls / Bash and Sash / Loloyum / Part & Parcel / Prezetlina / Palm and Perkins / The Loose Rooster Ranch / Fish Wife Sweets / Merora / Hello Shiso / Andi’s Succulents How did you celebrate International Women’s Day? …