let your conscience be your guide

I LOVE the way these business cards turned out!

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Book Club

When Joanna asked me to design her book cover I was thrilled! She wanted something feminine, modern and sophisticated to enclose her writing. We went through a number of drafts to get this perfect, final cover. This is the first cover I've ever done, and I can hardly wait to hold the final product in my hands!

The design sequence - 1st draft on the left, 2nd draft in the middle, and final design on the right

flower power

I made something pretty for someone special.

{3 Days of San Francisco in a Nutshell}

Ok, I went to San Francisco two weekends ago and I am just posting about it now... I've been a traveling crazy person lately - living out of a suitcase for three weeks in a row! First I moved to St. Louis, then pretty much the following weekend Ted took me to San Francisco and THEN the next weekend we drove to Chicago and back. I lost my toothpaste somewhere along the way. Luckily my cousins don't seem to be noticing that I've been borrowing theirs ;)  

Lava Bowl...

Anyway, San Francisco in a nutshell {AMAZING!} I could totally live there. Except for the part about walking up those ridiculous mountain/hills... If you are wondering why I took a vacation to California after being at my new job for hardly one full week, it's because Ted took me there for my birthday! He's the best! We left on Wednesday after work and after a quick layover in Chicago we arrived safely at our destination. 

On Thursday morning we were having breakfast and Ted said "Ok, just so you know, it's in my genes to plan vacations around food." I laughed, but he was serious. This trip really was a LOT of eating! Which is never a bad thing. :) That morning I had a  banana pecan pancake and Ted had a bagel with capers and onions at a cafe downtown. For lunch we had a "snack" of fried calamari at Fisherman's Wharf, and let me just say, that was not "snack" sized. Delish!! And for dinner that night we went to the highly recommended Wayfarer's Tavern which serves gourmet American food. We had oysters, I had macaroni, and Ted had fried chicken and a vegetable. After this we met up with Bill and Nicole, our hosts for the trip, at The Tonga Room for a drink. We shared a "Lava Bowl" and had a great night.  

Just a little something we found in Chinatown

On Friday we had breakfast at the hotel and headed to Chinatown for hours of exploring. We were total tourists, stopping to look at everything and take pictures. We asked a shop owner for a lunch suggestion and we headed up the street to a local favorite. Only about half of the items on the menu were translated into English, so we ordered what we recognized; hot and sour soup for Ted and pot stickers for me. Next time we will have to be brave and ask for the best item they have. After Chinatown we were ready for a fresh scene. We headed to the Ferry Building to explore, shop and, (not eat) but taste some local drinks! Ted had a beer and I had wine. Mmm :) After this we did some more shopping and went to meet Bill and Nicole for Sushi. I need them to help me remember some names of items and the restaurant, but we tried some fun and different dishes. The best part was that one roll, The Inferno, was delivered to our table on a flaming plate! Unfortunately, the flame was not for roasting sushi like a marshmallow (yes, we tried that), but rather for display purposes only. Afterward, we went out and met Bill and Nicole's friends, drank some more drinks, and laughed some more laughs. We pretty much closed the place down. 

Taste tests at the Ferry Building

My roomie!! xoxoxox

Saturday we woke up and went to brunch at "Eats," a really great place close to Bill's apartment. I had a waffle with bacon pressed inside it and Ted had chicken and waffles. A remarkably good combination! We then headed to pick up Megan Aimola in Haight Ashbury and continue our adventure. We walked through neighborhoods, a park, the pan-handle, and finally found Megan and stole her away from her other friends. :) We explored the Haight and the Mission and then went in search of an ice cream shop. This was not a regular ice cream shop though. They served flavors such as Green Curry, Butterbeer, Pepper Mint (not to be confused with peppermint, which is what I thought I was ordering) and something with bourbon and cornflakes. Anyway, you may think I'm crazy here, but these flavors were delicious! After the ice cream, I was exhausted so we headed to a park to relax. We found a grassy spot on the top of the hill to people watch and sit and chat. But not without stopping at the food truck which was selling delicious tacos! We all tried a little something and nibbled in the shade. I'm getting tired writing this part, so as you can imagine, by day 3 I was literally pooped. We went back to Bill's where he cooked us a delicious lentil soup and we had a wonderful dinner conversation. You would have thought we had all known each other for years! 

We went out for one last hoorah at an Irish bar and called it an early night. Ted and I had to get up at 4am for our shuttle to the airport, so we said our goodnights, gave big hugs, and promises to come back soon. San Francisco is a wonderful place! There are so many places I have yet to explore. Not to worry California, I'll be back again soon! 

Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis

Well friends, I did it! I went wild and left McHenry.

I accepted a position as an Associate Graphic Designer in St. Louis and they asked me to start immediately so I bought a car, filled it up, and drove south. Tomorrow marks one full week of my life in Missouri and my head is still spinning. I have to remind myself that moving six hours away (still within driving/train/or a one hour flight) from home, is really not that big of a deal. Some people move to another country without a blink of the eye! But this is coming from a girl who moved once in her life - from 1608 to 1621 of the same street.... Yes, you read that correctly, my parents moved five houses down. (We used the lawn mower and a snowmobile trailer to haul things between houses instead of hiring a U-Haul like normal people.) So for me, St. Louis is a big, scary, freakin' deal!

So here's the good news. I get to live with my aunt and uncle! (THANK GOD!!!) They have a beautiful, cozy house and they made room for me at the drop of a hat. It really does feel like a second home. Well... except for the spiders and snakes I found in my bed tonight when I got home... Haha! My little prankster cousins are in kindergarten and 2nd grade, they are so incredibly cute. This sight made me laugh out loud especially when I pictured them sneaking these toys in there. :)

The other great part is that now I am close to Ted :)

So, in conclusion; I have a job! I have family. I have Ted.

And I really, really, really miss home.

Shoot

A direct mail piece I designed for the Boy Scouts! 

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Today I'd like to share a little something I whipped up for my mom's Art Studio!

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