roof: part one of what is likely to be many

Our dear friend Russ came to Brooklyn and stayed with us for a week... among many other things he made me laugh hysterically every day & he figured out how to open the door to get on our roof (which may or may not have an "emergency exit only" alarm on it but it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal...right!?).

One thing that I am learning that I absolutely cannot live without is access to an outdoor space on my home. Be that a roof top, front porch, backyard, decent sized (i.e. not SRO and must hold more than 1 chair) balcony—fire escapes of average size do not count. I could, perhaps live with either a nice park directly across the street or, in my most blissful, if not wildest dreams—a beach. If the weather is decent I just need to be outside but I don't always want to be "out" walking around the 'hood. Don't get me wrong, Prospect Park is a dream come true and a quick 8 min. walk from my door but if I want to have a little aperitivo it's, well, illegal besides the hassle of packing and toting food, drink, cups, blanket, book etc. All of that to say, thank you, dear Russell for giving me what, after 5 months sitting in a 350 square-foot apartment, feels like my freedom!



These shots were taken (while working on our taxes on the roof) with the fancy camera that I'm learning how to use properly... obviously having some issues with the fading evening light but in a weird way all of these look cool even if they aren't remotely representative of the light at the time!

Wedding 1 of 4 (sneak peak)

Working on four weddings this year, here's a peek at the first. For my darling sister. Kendra and Stephen had to beat me down with sticks to do something simple and monogrammed for them (they're a little more classic that I like to be). But in the end we are all happy!

Dear Spring, you are very lovely but please don't play cat and mouse with us this year. We even got some Sunday-afternoon roof time in... but we need more to lift our spirits!

illustration re-visited

I designed this poster for a class project when I was at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. The design brief was that I was to design a public service poster similar to the ones the WPA did under Roosevelt's New Deal. Flat color was a must to make it possible to screen print – which was the most common method of printing posters at the time – and under 5 colors.

We recently ran an article in the magazine that I work on about ways to conserve water in the summer. As soon as I read the article I thought this piece of illustration would be great for the magazine. Here's that same illustration used in a slightly different context.

Now you're inspired to conserve water, right? This site is unrelated to the magazine but here are some great tips to help you save water, time and money!

sneak-peek!

I've cryptically mentioned "projects in the works" & "new work to come..." in the past. Well, friends... I can't release some of them yet but here's a little teaser of of what's been going on in the studio of Paper City Design.



More photos with details to come (I promise).

for the love of boats

A few shots from boats this weekend.
Above, Governors Island Ferry, and below, Frying Pan restaurant in Chelsea.




*the original shots were blurry (boats sway you know)... but with the help of my trusty Poladroid they're much better now! And a correction to my pervious post on the whereabouts of my Polaroid camera... lost. Left in Mississippi after the wedding but no one has seen it. total bummer.

Packed and ready!

I'm hitting the road this evening. Off to DC (I've never been!) to see the lovely twins, Beth & Abbey. Looking forward to a girly weekend of cupcakes, wine & art museums. (not that those things are particularly girly...)

Have a beautiful weekend. (J, I miss you already! xo.)

*my favorite over-night bag (above). I can't remember exactly what shop I got it from in downtown Fredericksburg but I have had it for years now & I love it! It was made by women in Guatemala that repourposed their old dresses.

Oh, boys!

Some weekend highlights in no particular order:

Staten Island Ferry, E.J.'s Luncheonette, Guitar + Rooftop, finding out that both Kirk & Trevor can play the harmonica!, Curry Hill, The Met, Harlem, Rucker Park, brunch on the roof, late night donuts & chinese takeout, marching through the streets of Park Slope with a guitar + harmonica + singing boys!


Much fun was had at our joyful reunion, most everyone is on their way home now & exhaustion is setting in.

happy long-weekend!

Some of the best guys in the world are here in bklyn visiting for the weekend. I have a feeling (based on much prior knowledge) that it's gonna be a wild one!

happy Memorial Day! xo.

*these are some of the boys' bikes about 2 summers ago...

it's here!

Guess what was waiting for me when I got home from work on Friday evening?! My yudu came in! (lucky me & lucky-clients-of-mine, I can't wait to use it on Annie & John's reception invites!) Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to use it this weekend. But we did catch the the Domino tag sale. It was quite picked over but we enjoyed the outing anyway.

I hope all of you Mommies out there had a relaxing Mother's Day! Have a beautiful Monday, darlings!

joy.

Insipred by rockstar diaries... a list of 10 things that make me terribly happy:

10. fireflies at camp
9. the silence of fresh snow at night & the glow it creates
8. waking up with my husband
7. sitting outside with blankets & coffee
6. the first time I wear a scarf in the fall
5. the first time I wear a sun dress in the spring
4. holding babies (animal or human)
3. red wine
2. old friends
1. my sisters

Once I got rolling I found this little exercise to be really refreshing & I didn't want to stop. So here are a few more for good measure!

the smell of fall // fires in the backyard, or camping, or in a fireplace // going thrift store shopping... alone (I find this incredibly inspiring) // falling in love with a new album // wearing J's flannel shirts // the smell of my friend Lacey's bedroom! // listening to Patty Griffin and baking, alone. // hugging my dearest friends... for a long time! // a great massage // sitting around the coffee table with all my favorite ladies... in pj's! // linen. // perfectly folded laundry // a little sunburn // salty beach hair (or Guad hair) // Martha's Vineyard. // getting water from a stream. // waking up with the sun // seeing the sunset over Manhattan from my roof. // listening to & smelling rain though an open window while I shower. // opening all of the windows after a spring rain // italy // paris in the rain // driving off of the caprock on a roadtrip listening to good music // hand lettering // embroidery // sewing. // OUTDOOR SHOWERS! ... that's a good one to end on!

*if it's gloomy where you are I recommend writing your own list, it does help! photos by me.

Play, we did!

We rode our bikes to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden on Saturday to meet our friends. Then spent the whole afternoon in the park having a picnic, playing football, frisbee & getting perfectly sunburned. 90 degree weather saved my life!

The cherry blossoms are almost too pretty, & that's J taking photos with his I'm-more-hip-than-you manual camera with his fancy new strap!

I heart bklyn

I'm going to spend the weekend outside—taking photos of spring in Brooklyn, riding my bike & going to the park! And maybe we'll make some Micheladas too!

my new TOMS

At long last, I am so thrilled about my new TOMS. & they're even more comfortable than I could have imagined! Spring, here I come!

*TOMS is doing an incredible thing for the world. Click here to read more about the TOMS Movement.

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.

pretending it's warm and springy outside...

It's a good thing pansies can with stand the cold 'round here... pretty sure it snowed yesterday.

*photo taken last week at my local garden center when it was warm and I was doing research for an article about gardening.

Closet Escapism!?

I spent part of the morning defending myself:

"I am not an escapist! I'm just not. There are too many things that I have to deal with on a daily basis! I don't even own a T.V.! How could I be an escapist?!"

The accusation was made because I'm a Pisces, and since I don't put much salt into astrological signs – I don't know what the "Pisces traits" are... one of them, obviously, is escapism.

Then I was flipping though one of my inspiration folders and found these shots & I immediately wanted to be in the shot, relaxing, alone with a good book or good friends, far, far away (there was also this post on Friday) ... Maybe I am, in some corner of my mind, a "closet escapist" – but isn't that an oxymoron!?

*photo inspiration from Marie Claire Maison, Architectural Digest & some unknown sources. (if you know where they are from please let me know!)

Scanwich!

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a beautiful weekend.

We went and played at the Brooklyn Museum on Saturday night – it was awesome! And instead of doing work yesterday (like good kids) we maybe had an afternoon beer, ate tofu dogs & ice cream instead! Yay for warm(ish) weather!

*scans via Scanwich. So rad. Make this veggie-girl hungry every time!

Jason Anderson // Pete's Candy Store

I have been a fan Jason Anderson's music for years. He played a show on Monday night in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at Pete's Candy Store. We went, even on a Monday night (J is a teacher so we don't usually venture too far from home during the week) & we are so glad we did!

The fun, pure enjoyment & inspiration that his shows bring is both contagious & heartfelt. I'm still riding the wave of positive energy that Jason provided!

*I wanted to (& tried, fruitlessly) to load a video that I made of the show. I haven't quite figured out iMovie yet to edit the longer stuff. But you can check out some equally as uplifting videos of Jason's shows here on YouTube.

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.