Warmbelly Brews: Road Trip a Belgian-Style Triple

J and Jeff brewed their second batch of beer. (see the first one here) This is a Belgian-style Triple and it's quite delicious. The labels are entirely hand-lettered by yours truly.

Stoop-Sale finds

Here in Brooklyn we don't have garages or yards (well, most of us don't) so we don't have yard sales or garage sales. But we do have stoops. So we do have stoop sales. I spotted these little gems at a sale 2 weekends ago and still can't get over that old ink packaging!


The gentleman I bought them from said they were his son's and that I should just tell him what I would pay for them. I got the whole lot for $3. Three. dollars. I've often eyed lino cutting tools at art supply stores but just can't stand buying the plastic kits they make now. Expect to see some lino prints coming soon!

And then there's this beauty... the couch J spotted on his way home from his Saturday morning bike ride. (it's a lot less orange and a lot more yellow in real-life.) Oh, and did I tell you? We moved. yes. again. For the last time in NYC. no more. But our place is bigger, cheaper and in the same 'hood. And quieter. We wake up to the sound of woodpeckers. I'm not kidding. Good-bye honking horns, we've moved to the country! (or at least that's what it feels like...)

First Aid Kit

I know I've posted about First Aid Kit before.

We saw them preform at the Bell House last night and it was phenomenal! They are incredibly talented. I highly recommend listening to some of their new tunes on myspace—go ahead and skip down to 'Ghost Town' at the end, so good!

*I can't figure out why the video is only embedding the left-half!? Any suggestions? sorry about that.

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!

Memorial Day in Massachusetts

We had a lovely and relaxing time in Massachusetts with friends. (O, how the Atlantic coast speaks to my soul!) Such a nice time that I almost forgot that I'm knee deep in a portfolio site redesign, the job search and to make things slightly more exciting... moving. again. Don't worry it's only about 9 blocks away. Wish me luck!

1 million Memorial Day kisses to my sister and all of the service women & men out there. Thank you.




*I'll be posting some invites that I never got around to as I shoot them all for my new site. Bear with me and stay tuned!

Kendra + Stephen: Programs

I gave a little peek of Kendra + Stephen's wedding invites awhile back but now that the wedding is over I'm excited to share a few more details! I designed their programs and made some little cards that sat by the guest book and on the buffet table to let the guests know what all the food was.


The wedding and reception were at a beautiful mission-style church in Fort Worth, Texas. Kendra literally looked like she was standing in a beam of light with her blonde hair & white dress in the early Texas sun!

Thanks Kendra + Stephen for letting us be such a big part in your wedding. We love you!

*I will post details of the invites soon.

Warmbelly Brews: Snow Day Stout

J & our friend Jeff have been doing some homebrewing the past few months. They started on the first snow day of the year (they're both teachers) with an eggnog milk stout. The first time I tried it it tasted like Robitussin (but I was very sick at the time...) I tried it again about 3 weeks ago and it was so yummy! Nutmeg-y and not too dark for a day in late April.


I designed some handlettered low-fi labels for their first batch that they dubbed "Snow Day Stout." Next up on their roster is a triple ale and then a big batch of a spring saison but they have to taste them before they name them so we'll see what the guys come up with! I'm really excited to be a small part of this fun collaboration!

Cheers!

Part-Time Music

Here's a little something else I have been meaning to share for awhile...
My dear friend, Bryant (who I have known for 13 years!), writes a great blog called Part-Time Music. He asked me to create a new blog header for him and when I took a look at his flickr account I was blown away at the library of great photos he has on there. It was so nice to tap into his personal archives while working on this project.

I highly recommend checking out his music blog, he'll introduce you to something new every week, I can guarantee it!

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.

Happy Easter!

J and I officially became urban gardeners this weekend with the purchase of 5 gallon buckets, dirt and some seeds/plants. All thanks to our amazing roof.


*cherry blossom photos from a trip to D.C. last weekend to visit my dear friends Beth and Lauren, thanks for a lovely weekend out of Brooklyn ladiesl!

J+C Invites

Another set of wedding invites went out with today's mail!

*Just a peek! will post details later...

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

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!

hibernation

This year I'm trying the hibernation method of making it though the long winter. One thing I came across the other day that fits my new mantra is: "As often as you can, try to turn artificial lights off. When the sun goes down, put away your phone, turn off your computer, turn off your lights, and sit quietly." yes, I think I will...

Though I would like to say that I don't open my computer in the evenings but it's not true. I've been working on some really fun projects though that I'll share soon(ish).




I've also been working on learning how to use one of these fancy babies. All of the above photos were taken with it within the last month or so. The last image was taken on a Saturday morning by J, so nice I could resist sharing it!