NO WAY IT'S SEPTEMBER

there's no way!! i cannot believe it is september 1st. where the heck is 2008 going?? what a crazy year already, and it's still got 1/4th to go!

i start my new school tomorrow... i am SO nervous. i think that it is even scarier than moving to a place you've never even seen PICTURES of (let alone stepped foot in) the day after you turn 18... at least it is for me! in that situation i was going to a very small school as a freshman with a bunch of other freshmen to keep me company. this time around, with like 35 thou students and coming in as a transfer- i really feel like the odd girl out. i had nightmare after nightmare last night about being lost and late to all of my classes!!

i am kind of excited to see how i toggle my two "jobs" and school. i use quotes because making crafts and playing with animals just, i can't believe they are my work! i am also excited for making new friends and even a little excited for homework... but still very scared. i think that if the weather were cooler and i had great new sweaters to start the year right, that i might be a little more gung ho. but it's going to be 91 on my first day, and i'll have just ridden the stinky subway from one nice neighborhood in the ghetto to another nice neighborhood in the ghetto. ha!

okay so! i don't have any new crafts, arty stuff, or photos to share but i DON'T want to leave you with just words. so here are some links to crazy wonderful sellers on etsy that i've gotten stuff from.


http://earcmra.etsy.com
I got this three flavor sampler for a birthday treat to myself... me and Ryan really tore through them! I would order more but I was literally addicted to their buttery sweet goodness and I think I would binge if I had them this soon again ha!


leafty.etsy
My sister got me this great ring from leafty on etsy!! I love love love it... it's too cute! Her shop is really amazing and it leaves me wondering why she doesn't have 180000000 sales. :)


humade.etsy.com
My sister ALSO got me this on etsy from my favorite's. I LOVE it. It makes me feel so classy whenever I pull it out to get to my... Septa tokens. haha! I also wish more people saw her shop, because the quality is INSANELY beautiful!

So! Hope everyone had a good first of the month! I'm off to make a few more napkins to mail out tomorrow!

ohh.

quick post. sorry my last one was soooo wordy!
summer's almost up. i start school next tuesday-- so scary. but i'm ready for autumn like you wouldn't believe!!
happy with my schedule i think, got my dorky ID, love my "job". cannot believe i am twenty.


new key rack for the keys i have to keep for work-- frame & hooks from ikea, assembled in about ten minutes by ryan, and a REALLY old test print on fabric in the frame.


new autumn block prints, illustrated by me & hand carved. two blocks per print! (so six new carved stamp linocuts total) soooo these are the new napkins :)

sooo! what's new with YOU?

little milestones

oh my goodness, i almost titled this "my last day as a teenager" without thinking... but it REALLY is my last day as a teenager! i feel like i should be doing something really stupid & really wild, but here's been my day so far: i just met a new client (a dog named butter! i love her!) and went to cvs to fill a perscrip... on the way home i FINALLY stopped at the little open air market on passyunk & got a HUGE basil plant for $3!! pretty exciting, right? these are not the great adventures of a 19 year old... anywho, tomorrow is my big #20! no plans, and i'll probably just take it easy and let myself NOT work on anything productive whatsoever. i haven't had big big hullaballoo on my birthday since my 17th, what with moving 700 miles away and all, so please don't call me all day asking why i'm not out living the dream. that was sooo depressing last year. all i did was go to cvs then, too! haha

it's also coming up on my 2nd anniversary of being in philly. i moved the day after my 18th birthday, on the 22nd. and it's kind of sad to think that i've only been to visit GA twice since then-- once at christmas 2006, and once last summer 07. i am homesick a lot, so i don't know how i haven't gone home more than that (other than the hefty cost of a plane ticket.) i've had many, many ups & downs here-- i don't know if i've grown or matured all that much but i've experienced a pretty wide, & new, range of emotions. eep! oh and the 22nd is one year ry & my first date. if it was even a date. i think i only remember it sooo specifically because it was the day after my birthday. but it's cute, right?

hmm what else? ry & i went peach picking this weekend!! and i saw my first pear tree!! last week we also got to see radiohead & the eagles (team, not the band sadly-) play for free. played my first game of poker last night!! and a couple of days ago i realized that "purple nurples" is a play on words of "purple nipples" and can't stop laughing every time i think of it. i love my job, and my pets i take care of soooo much! and i love that i woke up to a big order this morning. i'm not CRAZY about my school schedule (which i keep trying to tweak to perfection) but i am happy about the thought of being in class again... weird.

the weather is getting cooler & i'm smiling more. summer isn't my favorite season, at all, so i won't be sad to shoo this one out. i'm already in the fall spirit, walking in the shade and trying to justify wearing jeans instead of shorts. here's a little of what i've been up to, in pictures.

whew!

okay, hi! i have been a little off the radar... just trying to get my school stuff sorted out (all at once! it has been SUCH a nightmare), doctor's appointments, placement testing, and exciting pre-job stuff. not to mention squeeeezing a little summer out!

i FINALLY start my job tomorrow-- i am a dog walker & cat sitter! i know it sounds dorky that i'm soo excited about it, but there are real paychecks, totally customizable schedule, insured company, and better pay than i've made in any other job i've ever had. i cannot waaaaait to get started after training tomorrow. i will have a double-income, PLAYING WITH ANIMALS and MAKING BAD ART! i like the direction things are heading.

hello!! is anyone else having amazing weather? it has been hovering under 80 degrees here... it makes me feel soooo dreamy for autumn weather. we also had another great, stormy sunday-- and there's no better excuse to lay in bed at watch TLC with your other half & fat cat than a thunderstorm.

i haven't made anything tooooo exciting lately-- i had a few custom orders that i really, really wish i had photographed! like a really interesting color combo set of napkins, and a huuuuge custom stamp. i just packaged them up before i remembered to take pictures.
but! i did find a use for all of the thin scraps of paper i had been hoarding (I KNEW they would be good for something)! i made tons of little notebooks with perforated pages-- perfect for whenever someone asks for a scrap (and you don't want to destroy your planners!) for notes or gum or whatever. i'm already loving using my own, which comes in use since i have a gum-fanatic boyfriend.


detail of the cute perforated pages

sunset at national park in NJ

i got hired for my dream job

i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired i got hired for my dream job dream job dream job dream job dream job dream job dream job dream job dream job dream job dream job :)

also had to take the subway by myself for the first time ever, last minute, in the rain, at 7AM, after waking up at 530, to temple, for 6 hours of placement testing. and it wasn't that bad :)