a paper city turns 1 today!

Today marks one year of my first blogging venture, a paper city. I can remember, one year ago today, while living with people I had never met (friends of friends)... sitting alone in our new city at Tillie's Cafe with my laptop and creating a paper city. With just over 200 posts in 365 days I'm modestly pleased with it. It kept me creatively fulfilled during my 3 1/2 months of unemployment. It gives me a place to share my design endeavors & my adventures with J in our new city with the ones we love.

It's certainly a hodgepodge of things and has drifted away from purely design but I love too many other things in this life not to share. I'm also a firm believer that people, especially creative people, are constantly drawing inspiration from all the things in their lives. So while I may not always be posting about my new favorite illustrator, I'm trying a new recipe or discovering new music.

Thanks to you readers (all 4 of you!) for sticking around & making me feel like I'm not alone!

*photo by revivify.

Summer Fest 2009

1. I love food. I love shopping for it, preparing it, smelling it, eating it!

2. I love finding new seasonal, delicious recipes to make with J and share with our friends and family.

3. I love sharing these ideas with others... like minded or not. Maybe I can help them see that cooking at home doesn't have to suck. Or that eating seasonal isn't really a burden, it's a blessing!

4. I love MattBites. I find Matt to be insightful, hysterical & a real source for inspiration as an at-home cook & especially because I'm a designer for a food magazine! His food photography & his husband's styling skills are some of my all-time favorites.

All of these things said. I'm really excited to keep up with Summer Fest 2009 to learn what other bloggers and foodies are doing with Summer's bounty! (They'll feature herbs, stone-fruits, beans-and-greens, & a whole week dedicated to tomatoes... yes please!)

*Do yourself a favor and read Matt's post on herbs in cocktails. I already bought my rosemary to make a Rosemary Salty Dog. A Greyhound is one of my all time favorite beverages but I rarely drink them anymore having moved on from vodka + juice combos. I can hardly wait to get home and mix things up with a new take on an old friend!

getting away

J & I are going "out of town" to a little place on Long Island this weekend to celebrate a little milestone in our lives. Think: hammock, ocean, jacuzzi, grass, beach, books, sand, outdoor shower, lake & wine. ahhh.

July has been something close to madness but it is our life & I love it, have a lovely weekend.

*photos taken last weekend on the Williamsburg Waterfront... I love those crazy boat-planes!

Hand lettering

I've had this funky colorful alphabet by Mike Perry in my inspiration folder for awhile now. He rarely disappoints.

just a peek!

Some "work in progress" shots of the new apartment.

J get's all of the credit for the painting of the grey shelves and 98% of the grunt-work on everything else...including shlepping heavy furniture on his shoulders from across the 'hood all by himself! Thanks J!

Williamsburg Waterfront

We saw the Dirty Projectors play yesterday. Man, those girls can do some crazy things with their voices!

Got some great deals on vintage furniture this weekend but it was so nice to get out of the ever-evolving new apartment yesterday evening for a fun date-night in Williamsburg with J! (excuse my run-on)

Happy Monday, back to the grindstone!

Fans, in the sky!

A few shots of wacky fans strung on wire at a Bastille Day street fair last weekend in Brooklyn. We're getting settled in the new apartment and as always, it's a process! Will post a few pictures eventually.
Have a beautiful weekend!

lantern lovelies

Yesterday, J retuned home after a visit to his Motherland. He brought one of the lanterns from our wedding with him. I think I've mentioned this before but since we got on a plane to NYC about 10 hours after our wedding most of the stuff from the wedding is still in Mississippi... I think my dress ended up at my Aunt's house in Dallas!?)

When I said that I wanted my best friends (bridesmaids) to carry lanterns instead of flowers some people thought that I had lost my mind. (The lanterns also doubled as centerpieces with other votives.) About a week after I bought all of the lanterns I received this Anthropolgie catalog in the mail with beautiful lanterns on the front and back covers. I was instantly affirmed in my decision and proceeded to carry the catalog around with me for a few days because the photoshoots in Morocco on the inside were just sooo lovely!

I even used the pattern on the glass from the lanterns as the inspiration behind the pattern that I created for our wedding invites!

South Mississippi

A few shots shots from our trip.
photo 1. Hercules. A plant that made gun powder during WWII, most recently a paper plant, and is now closed.
photo 2. (left) mural on the outside of the New Yokel Market in downtown Hattiesburg. One of my favorite cafes anywhere. (right) Farmers selling their produce on the side of the road on the Fourth of July.
photo 3. (right) Cadillac Corner.
photo 4. The evening of the 4th at the McNamara's home.

catch up!

26. That's how many days it rained in NYC in June. Portland, eat your heart out. These were taken on the roof our last night at our first Brooklyn apt. I thought the sky was showing off for us, our last sunset with such amazing views of the city!


I'm about a week behind on life since we rushed out of town last week. So even though we've been in the new apartment for a little over a week it only feels like about 3 days...

*these photos lost a lot of color when I uploaded them... if you can believe! Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions about how I can avoid that?

we've been out...

We rushed out of town early last week after getting news that J's wonderful Grandmother passed away suddenly. I'm flying back to NYC now while J spends a few more days in Mississippi with his family. Mrs. Bobbie was a beautiful, exciting woman to be around and she will be missed.

*I wish I had some of the amazing photos from her younger days on my computer but this one taken at our wedding nearly a year ago shows her true colors! (photo by Hillary)