islands in the stream

hi guys! i'm on day one of my four day summer. I AM SO HAPPY. i have been making things & watching movies all day (house bunny, what a way to go, steel magnolias, and now 1776 the musical). i've made lots of hand printed fabric yards, and some pillow slip covers that i'll photograph tomorrow when the sun is up. did i mention how happy i am? i really wish i took off the second half off the summer from school... :(



welp, i'm off to finish my movie and read a little more of dolly parton's autobiography. :) i think the video below is such a great example of what an extraordinary performer she is! did you know i love her, like, a lot?

catching up!

you know, for as much time i spend holed up in my room doing homework, i sure do have the feeling that i'm always on the go. i think it is just an issue of constantly having obligations and errands to tend to, even when i THINK i have time to myself. but i am getting a little better at sorting out my life and working on those goals i recently posted about... i think i would REALLY be in good shape with everything if it wasn't for dang summer classes. what was i thinking!
plus, my sister came through and stayed two days with me the other week, so i gt a little behind on everything. but other than my aunt & uncle, she was the first family member to visit me up here-- i've lived here three years now!

anywho- finally made some new stationary sets with that new (well, month old) block! i had so much fun coordinating colors & making fun palettes. i now cannot wait to test the block on fabric!




i also finally tackled my giant box of paper... recycled a bunch, sorted by size/whether it had been printed on, and finally made use of tinier strips. i made a bunch of new gift tags for the shop! really easy & fun. there are tons of styles in the shop already. :)



well! i have to get going. a dear friend from home is coming to stay with me a few days next week (with her boyfriend), so i'm trying to get all of my huuuuuge final papers done as soon as possible. first summer session is officially over monday the 29th! my nantucket travel plans with my lovely auntie fell through, so i'll have that entire week off before starting the second half of classes. looking forward to the time off! does anyone have any good holiday weekend plans for then?

a new month!

oh lord- so there i was thinking i had all the time in the world ahead of me to get busy and post/work. but it never works out like that, does it?? soon after writing my last post i carved a new linocut and... i have no idea what happened thereafter.


while my summer classes aren't TOTALLY consuming, the laziness that results between the hours of 1pm-5pm is. if i'm not working for philapets, i end up napping, running errands, going to the laundromat, munching, catching up on blogs, and doing puzzles. i guess that isn't so terrible, but i have pages and pages of ideas that i somehow have not gotten far into because i can't seem to find the right chunk of time to work. and that is seriously a shame!

but i had a little epiphany this weekend that, okay, i don't feel guilty for catching up on sleep (especially considering i've been going through a new ferretin/iv drip treatment for 2 weeks already)-- but i'm over it. in the coming weeks, i have some really fun summertime goals for myself:
-start a new exciting workout regimen! on top of borrowing the roommate's trainer and biking in my room every AM, i am doing a little research about what yoga videos people like. i have heard amazing things about yoga and i feel like it's something i really want to incorporate in my life. any suggestions?? a little speedy inside bike ride, yoga, and my usual 2+ miles of walking 5x a week... sounds so good to me!!
-read dolly parton's autobiography! the title "my life and other unfinished business" made me remember to update my blog, believe it or not... ha! i grabbed it on half.com for $5 along with...
-jane fonda's autobiography! yes!
-stop letting 3 hours of classes in the AM interfere with the productivity of the rest of my day. AKA no naps missy!
-rephotograph basically everything in my shop. i'm also seriously considering moving over to foxtrotting.etsy and having a whole new chic style. my current shop just feels so cluttered and i want to start over sorta. eek.

that's that. i SWEAR new stuff soon.

two months later!

wow, so i haven't updated since my spring break back in march. that has a LOT to do with the fact that, once school started back up my work load tripled. i was coming right home to sit in front of the computer doing homework about 6-7 hours every day. i usually gave myself off friday nights and saturdays from homework, but was so burned out by the weekend that i just relaxed or spent time with ryan and friends.
two months later, i am TOTALLY ENJOYING LIFE. it has been raining here all week, and i haven't once started to pity myself on the soaking walks home. instead i've just... enjoyed it. i've enjoyed the warm rain, i've enjoyed the fact that having short hair means little to no humidity issues, and i've enjoyed the fact that everything seems to be falling into place.
i am feeling so dorky and gooey-- this past week was my "study week" and beginning of finals. i am almost done with the semester from hell! a few weeks ago, i had sort of an epiphany that maybe i'm not in the right major (yes, again). i spent some time thinking about what i really wanted, and in a single conversation with my roommate realized just how long i've been saying "well what I really want to do is..." - and now i'm going to do that! i'm switching to marketing, which i feel like is the right thing. i'm realizing now that it doesn't mean i am abandoning animals if i'm not running around in the jungle saving them (though that wouldn't be a bad fate). it's just what i need to do, and i'm exploring outlets to continue to help animals any way i can. but i think it's important to follow a career that feels natural, and makes you happy.
the change of major actually didn't make me any more behind! hooray. but to catch up with my 2010 graduation, i am taking summer classes both sessions, which means up at 7 and home at 1, 4 days a week. but i am so looking forward to my new path in life that i can't even complain!
i am also happy that: i love my jobs. both of them. how did i get so lucky? they don't even feel like jobs. i love my boyfriend, yeah gag i know but it's true. i love my dopey cat. i love my living situation and this apartment/my roommate/her crazy cat. i love my new major, and feeling confident and excited about school again. i'm just really very happy with everything right now!

while i was nuts with school, i put my shop on a little hiatus. now that i'm back, i wanted to come back into the scene bearing gifts. sooo! i was approached by a lovely lady who is having a series of giveaways, and through that you could win one of my tulip block print notebooks!
Go to: http://tinyurl.com/peachgiveaway
It's also worth checking out the other items up-- as well as her blog itself! That's candacetodd.blogspot.com

I hope EVERYONE is as happy and dorky as I am... I'm about to sort through some old school notebooks & cut out doodles that I want to incorporate into new designs. Lilly is in the window, in the warm sun watching the rain. It's weird weather but I love it. :)

hello! gloomy day

oh lordy lord. i had this crazy, crazy long post written on my one-year etsy anniversary/spring break last week, but was waiting to upload some pictures to add to it. then i got totally immersed in art orders, then school started back... so obviously, by now it's gone. i have no idea where it went but here's basically what it said:

- i am so happy in the new place. my room is over twice the size of the last place. my roommate is totally perfect/fun/considerate AND shares interests. we had a fun party our first settled weekend, & i hadn't gotten to play host since like 2006? other good things: having people over while i do homework, and remembering how much i love sitting in livingrooms on a couch instead of holed up in my room all day. "craft night"s turned lazy fun girl night... with so many more to come. oh lord i don't even know. it's just a great place! i love my room, my huge closet, my giant bathroom, my helpful landlord (who just shoved his hand down our disposal because we were too scared to), kailey's kitten (who is asleep on my leg). i even love that it means i'm back to walking a minimum of two miles a day again, between getting to the subway, from the subway to classes, and back. this is a good way to start spring!


- alllthough. i miss blogging, making new things, taking pictures, did i say making new things? i've been so, so busy with this semester and will NEVER take this many classes at one time ever again! unless one is just a wonky easy class at least. i just registered for my summer classes and that's pretty exciting... the idea of 9-12/9-2 days and walking as many doggies as possible! but for now, i've got to stick this out and get through it. i still haven't gotten to use my sticker maker, and any time i have to make things goes to orders.

- which brings me to my one year etsy-verssary. :) i am just so thrilled to have gotten on etsy. while i still don't take myself and the things i make too terribly serious, it is incredibly exciting that i hit 130 orders in one year. the day of, i had just mailed out a huge custom invitation order, a wholesale card order, 40 notebooks to one shop, and trying to figure out how i was going to get another 40 to a different shop. i'm just so shocked & happy about how many consignment/wholesale orders i had a chance to do, and a wedding i got to make 125 notebooks for, and however many households are using my napkins at their dinners! i'm just SO very thankful. it allowed me to get by doing etsy & philapets (love my jobs!) instead of having to work at a job i hate again. and it isn't like i wouldn't be making all of these things in the mean time, at least now they are going somewhere!


i am actually going to end this now. i have lots of really fun things in the works- like maybe a livingroom reorganizing two-girl party with kailey this weekend (ha!), hopefully spending a few months in guatemala/costa rica/SOMEWHERE with a fam next summer learning spanish & volunteering (POTENTIAL DREAM COME TRUE), and a huge purchase to allow me to fulfill one of my dorky art dreams (!!!)
so next time, i will cover all of those things and bore everyone to death.