Girls in Boots

You know you're in Texas when not just a few girls show up to a fancy event in dresses and cowboy boots (& look really hot in the process!)

Gawd, I miss my friends.

(I was out last week for Lacey + Jay's wedding. It was lovely. I ate a LOT of Mexican food.)

top photo by me, all others by J.

Rebecca & Aaron's Wedding Invites

I loved creating these romantic wedding invites for my dear friend Rebecca and her husband, Aaron. They were married in St. Paul's chapel in Lubbock, Texas—such a sweet place and one of my personal favorites!

Since the chapel is so small they needed invites to the actual wedding and then a set of invites to the reception only.


Congratulations Rebecca & Aaron, I wish we could have been there!

Secrets Burst: A Reunion

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of working with my friend, Katie, on a poster for the final reading of the Secrets Burst writing group. This group of friends and colleagues has been writing and sharing their work together for a few years now and much of the group has or will be dispersing across the U.S. — hence their "final reading."

I was in Texas busy with my sister's wedding last week so I'm embarrassed to admit that I forgot to post this until now (as the reading was actually last week...) many, many apologies to Secrets Burst and anyone that would have liked to attend!

As always, thank you Katie and Secrets Burst for letting me be apart of the fun!
See the poster that I did last year here.

Gathering Place

When I was in college I screen printed this coffee table that I picked up at a thrift shop. It was a lot of fun to make and I got a few good years of use out of it before we moved to Brooklyn (unfortunately there's no space for a coffee table in our apt). For those that are having a hard time it says "Gathering Place," which is, of course, what a coffee table is.

This table is currently homeless. My sister took some photos of it for me before she moved to Florida so I could try to find a new owner for it. It's a little rough around the edges (as you can see!) but the design has been sealed on the top and won't scratch off. It is also very sturdy.

If you are in the greater Lubbock area and would like to give this table a good home (for free!) please email me at: kd.mcnamara85@gmail.com

Kendra's Bridal Shower

I got to play hostess just before Christmas at my sister's bridal shower. Of course my main duty was to take care of the invites while the other hostesses did a great job with the food & decorations!


I screen printed (with my yudu, of course!) the doily/snowflake pattern onto grey stock and ran that through my printer for the black text.

I also made some simple recipe cards that people filled out and brought to the shower to help Kendra & Stephen start a good collection of recipes from their loved ones.

Now... to get cracking on those wedding invites!

Home for the Holidays (sort of)

I've been baking, sewing, making, shopping, wrapping, listening to Christmas music and reading lately. Not a lot of blogging as I've avoided the computer at all costs. I'm still okay with that... maybe one day I'll return to regular posting or maybe not.

I'm leaving for the motherland this evening. My sister graduates from Texas Tech University in the morning and I'll be there to see her walk across the stage. I'll spend a few days in Texas and then meet J in Mississippi for Christmas with his family.

Merry Christmas to you all, xo!

photo of our lovely little tree last night

not quite "vacation"

The trip home was full of reunions – most people we haven't seen since the wedding since we had not been back since the big move.

However, the main reason for the trip was less light hearted. We went to see my Dad – he has cancer, again. This is the third time since I was 5 years old, and it's been on a steady 10-year cycle ever since. This time though it came with a "benign" brain tumor (tell me what kind of brain tumor is benign!) and the cancer itself was peppered though his chest, lungs & neck. Previously it was concentrated in his stomach.

We received some really great news about a week ago, the chemo has been working and the cancer has receded by at least 50% which means remission! (Such a powerful word with such a long road ahead.) Later in the week there was more news... his brain tumor (which caused a decent seizure in February before they got him on proper meds) is gone. This is a miracle in itself as they weren't sure that the chemo would even affect the tumor because it wasn't cancer.

In the coming weeks/months they will be attempting a stem cell transplant to replace his bone marrow and doing a strong dose of chemo as well.

For those that knew about all of this, thank you for keeping my Dad in your thoughts & prayers – your support has been felt in more ways than you know!

*photo from one of the doc visits last week.

I've been out.

But I'm back now! We returned to the mother-land (well, my mother-land, not J's) for a week to see family & friends.

*photos taken way out on approximately 104th & Chicago -ish... it was raining a bit.

branches & a trip down memory lane!

I love blooming branches in the spring! I see them as the gate-keepers of warmer weather, better moods & summer adventures of the near future.

My High School was surrounded by budding trees. When I was a sophomore I went on a band trip to NYC for spring break (the only time I came here before moving here!) and when we got back the trees surrounding the school had blossomed! Every year since then I anxiously anticipate the budding trees. The only ones I've seen so far are cut branches in shops but I can see the little buds starting to grow.

I literally cried.

Worst decision ever made by a University of which I am an alumna, & former employee. (& like all institutions, they've made their fair share of bad decisions.)

I am heartbroken.

Go here for more info. & how to make your voice heard!

*poster/illustration by Dirk Fowler of f2-design.

F2-design // Happy Halloween

I've liked this poster by my former professor & friend, Dirk Fowler of F2-design, for awhile now & thought it would be perfect to share on this all hallows eve. That, and I've been in a particularly folk-y/haunting mood after listening the First Aid Kit on repeat for 24 hours now. Could their cover of the Fleet Foxes song "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" be any better? I think not.

bar stool madness!

I was at my local Salvation Army – again. (Have I mentioned my love of thrift stores? It is a passion of mine, really. I had rituals when it came to thrift store shopping in Lubbock.) I found these beautiful West Elm bar stools. I got the set for $100, they are in perfect condition, so comfortable & look great in the apartment!

It took me 2 trips to bring them home on the bus (& apparently you aren't supposed to take furniture on the bus?!) but it was worth it! A guy on the street was shocked when I came out of the Salvation Army carrying one of the chairs. He apparently has the same ones at home and said he paid a pretty penny for them...all for his cat to tear one of them up! Then, he congratulated me on my find.

I've tried to find what they retail for online, I found a similar set for $450. I must say, I'm basking in my chair glory right now!

Packaging // Owl Wind Chime

I found this owl wind chime for at a thrift store over a year ago. I had to have it for the box it came in...so vintage, so colorful, & great old typefaces...three of them! (I guess the designer couldn't decide which one looked best & embraced it!) But I love all three so no complaints here!

I bought the wind chimes for J (he likes owls) but they looked more like penguins than owls. They were forgotten, hanging on the balcony at his old house during the big move. Not a real big loss, we don't have anywhere to hang them here. But I still have the box!

From the Archives // Graduation Announcements

I almost forgot about these! (even though it wasn't that long ago) They were the graduation announcements that I screen printed when I graduated from college. To save time and money (which were so both precious at the time...I guess somethings never change!) I bought a few packs of blank, multi-colored cards & mix 'n' matched the envelopes & ink colors for a little variety.

Artist Profile // Jonathan D. Baker

My friend Jonathan (or "Baker" to his friends) just launched his new site. He's a very talented artist and web-guru. His emphasis is in photography but going through art school with him I honestly haven't seen any medium that this guy can't work in. He's about to make the big move from Texas to the Mountainous-Wonderland of Denver, Colorado to fulfill his dream of working hard and playing harder!

Do take a look at his new site, amalgamis. And browse through his photography portfolio to see some deserted desert loveliness.

If you know anyone in the Denver area that Jonathan should know about, or if you are in need of a web-guru...drop him a line, he would be happy to hear from you!

OH! and Jonathan helped me immensely with my web site. (aka: I gave him the artwork, he advised me in the ways-of-the-web and put it together for me!)

*Thanks Baker, good luck in Denver!

photos by Jonathan D. Baker via amalgamis.

O Fall, how I do love thee!

I'm getting jittery just looking (and drooling) over these lovely fall images at Matthew Mead. It seems everyone has been feeling autumn's arrival...(even if it's just with football games, for my Texas friends!) I was at Target yesterday and it's just evil the way they have the Halloween candy displayed in giant monster-mouths! (Did I say "evil" because I meant awesome! I did resist, for the record.) It's only September people, can't we hold off on the Halloween stuff for a few more weeks!?

I'm thinking a fun, fall-inspired project is on the horizon...not sure what (I am liking the funky wall art above via Matthew Mead)...but with this much excitement I must do something!

What are you doing to celebrate the fall, even if you can't feel it yet? Are you working on any fun recipes or projects?

*I already bought a pie pumpkin for baking and cooking...I would cook with pumpkin year around if it wasn't kind of faux pas.

top image by me.
bottom image via Matthew Mead.

Mid-morning walk lovlies...

I'm from West Texas, this translates to "no-trees"... In fact one of my favorite bands hailing from the LBK, Thrift Store Cowboys, has a song called No Trees. It also means flat, very flat...stand-on-a-tuna-can-and-see-100-miles-in-every-direction-flat. Don't get me wrong, I love West Texas, there's something about seeing the desert and windmills when I drive off of the Caprock outside of Post that get me everytime. BUT, I also love trees & water. All of this is a preamble to the lovely walk I had mid-morning to one of my favorite spots in Prospect Park. I think this weekend's rain from tropical storm Hanna may have prompted some late-summer bloomage.

*when I tell people that I go running in the park & I feel like I'm alone in the woods, even though I'm in the middle of Brooklyn they don't seem to believe me...do you believe me now?

Holy Heavenly // ANZAC cookies

If you haven't already noticed, I'm a pretty big fan of 101 Cookbooks. I love the recipes & the photography is killer. I have yet to make anything too complicated (sometimes the ingredients were difficult to come by in Lubbock, but I made some substitutions) and it's always worth the extra step or ingredient. She really sticks to healthy and whole foods as well which is great if you want something not-as-southern-as-your-mom-made-it & usually always vegetarian or even vegan. I made these ANZAC cookies tonight for my dinner. (yes, I said dinner.) ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, you can get the cookie-lore here for a little background info. What I'm trying to say is I highly recommend this recipe. They were filling, fantastic & I didn't feel the urge to eat the whole pan. I also didn't use the orange blossom water that she suggested, I substituted with a little vanilla.

(Don't worry Mom, I ate the orange that I used for zest with them so that's not all I had for dinner!)

note: I can't & wasn't about to compete with Heidi's incredible photographs of her cookies. (besides hers are heart-shaped & mine were blobs.) So here's a shot of our lovely Kitchen Aid mixer, (a wedding gift) in pink for the Susan G. Komen Foundation...and the great evening light in our kitchen.

drafting table lust

Seeing this on design*sponge yesterday made me miss my wonderful drafting table, I had to leave it in Texas during the big move. We have a bar in the studio apt (which is nice) but no dining table. One day, I dream of having a dining table like one of these...


ahhh, a girl can dream, right!?

top image by jill malek via design*sponge.
middle image by Sköna hem, bottom image by Michael Del Piero, both via desire to inspire.

Baby Shower Invites // Miss Ella

I've been meaning to post these for awhile, I made them a few months ago... Now Miss Ella is almost 3 months old! I will be taking a trip down to Texas in a month to go see her (okay, & her parents) can't wait!

My main inspiration when I was working on the design were these cookies. No, really, I had recently made them and had been searching in vain for a scalloped edge cookie cutter for MONTHS. I had been wanting to use my old scalloped scissors on something but hadn't found the perfect project until Nicole's mom asked me to make these shower invites.

a note on the paper for you design-y types out there: I used a craft card stock for the backing and an ivory Wausau paper with matching 100% cotton, #10 envelopes, also in ivory.

*note: I still haven't found the scallop-edged cookie cutter, please enlighten me if you know where I can find one! oh, and the cookies are amazing.