What I Learned in 2012

2012 has been a year full of life lessons, some more obvious than others. Since graduating back in May, I've learned a lot of things that I wished I had learned years ago. But some of these things are things I learned years ago, but never listened.

Here's a list of the things I learned (in no particular order):

Invest in good clothes – How many times have you spent $20 on something from H&M or Forever 21 and you've maybe only worn/washed it like two times before it started falling apart? Or maybe you just wore it once and you were over it and you realize you never really needed it in the first place. Or (if you're like me) some of that stuff is still sitting in your closet with the tags still on. There's a reason why it's called "fast fashion"…it's not meant to last. That's essentially 90% of my wardrobe from my college years. And most of that stuff has been donated or sold on eBay. It's ok to spend $300 on a good quality (in my case, Hetterson) sweater if you plan on wearing it to death. There's no point in treating expensive clothes like they're precious because then they will never be worth what you spent on them. Good clothes are meant to be worn over and over again. If it's made well from high quality materials, then it should last you for years to come and over time it will be worth all the money you spent on it.

It's OK to change your mind – What you want to do at 26 might not be the same thing you wanted to do at 21…and that's OK! Sometimes what you want to do at 26 happens to be the same thing you've always wanted to do at 17…and that's OK too! Invest time in the things you want to do instead of trying to force yourself to do something you feel obligated to because you feel like you've already invested a lot of time in it. You grow up and life is constantly changing. It's OK for your mind to change with it.

Don't do the kind of work you don't want to get hired to do – This is an obvious one, but it's very easy to be tempted by money and do work you really hate for it. And at the end of it all, you'll have some money to pay the bills for the month but absolutely nothing for your portfolio. People hire you based on the kind of work they see in your portfolio. So if you don't want to do a certain kind of work for a living, don't have it in your portfolio.

Say "No." to clients more often – When you're hired by a client to be the graphic designer on a project, it's not an open invitation for them to ask you to figure out their entire business for them. If they can't tell you in their own words what their business is about, it's a red flag to walk away from the project.

Be Yourself – Totally cliché, but true. You're not doing yourself any favors by trying to be someone you're not. And being yourself is more fun anyways…trying to be someone else is way too stressful.

Support the people who support you – It's a great way to say thank you to the people who gave you a chance when no one else would. And it's a great way to build close-knit communities.

Bake more often – It's fun & delicious!

What I Bought Today: 12.29.12

For Christmas, my lovely boyfriend got me a gift certificate to one of my favorite stores: Myrtle. I stopped by today, after Whitney (the owner) had just returned from visiting her family in the midwest. She was having a 20% Off New Year's Sale which made me want to shop my heart out! After trying on several tops and dresses, this is what I left with.

Eve Gravel dress and a Scout & Catalogue Constellation Clutch (which I've been wanting for a very long time).

If you're in the LA area, you should definitely stop by Myrtle. It's one of the best women's boutiques around.

Merry Christmas, from Sebastian & Me

Sebastian's been loving the Christmas tree. It's his new favorite place to hang out, and he's been drinking the tree water when we're not looking. Luckily, the Chans don't pour any tree treatment chemicals in the water. We're wishing everyone a warm holiday!

For the Sake of Content

I guess I never addressed this because I almost didn't feel the need to, but in case you haven't noticed this blog has migrated back to Blogger (again). For those following along, this blog has moved several times between Blogger, Tumblr, and Wordpress…mostly because I was overthinking everything instead of doing whatever felt the most natural. In the end, I decided to come back to Blogger for many reasons. I wanted to go back to the earlier years when my blog was really about the content. I always felt that with Wordpress I got too obsessed with the way things looked and the way things were structured. I spent more time messing with the CSS than actually writing posts. And with Tumblr, I never could post much original content simply because I knew it would get buried under all the random things on the internet I would be reblogging. I know a bunch of designers who would probably say "Why are you still using Blogger?!" but I don't care. There's nothing really wrong with Blogger anymore. I think people just remember what Blogger was like in the old days and believe that not much has changed since then.

Sweet

The one thing I will always love about IKEA soft serve is how cheap and simple it is. It's like instant gratification that reminds me of childhood. And how no matter how horrible things get, everything's going to be ok.

I've been sorta taking some time off since returning from San Francisco. It's like recovering from a storm. Renegade Craft San Francisco was a fantastic show…in fact, it was the best show I have ever done! Starting next month, I'm going to start phasing out the knitwear. It was an extremely difficult decision to make, but I decided it wasn't worth all the time I had invested in it. I hardly sell any online through Etsy, but almost always nearly sell out when I do a show like Unique LA or Renegade Craft. I need to move on to something that sells more consistently and something that I also enjoy making. Over the years, I've grown to dread making knitwear. What once was a hobby I loved is now a chore that I loathe. Also, just keeping a yarn stash around so I can fill orders when needed takes up a HUGE amount of space which I don't have. Yarn currently takes up about 50% of the real estate of my room.

I've also been thinking about my job situation, but also enjoying this time away from a day job. But the time is drawing near when I will need to make a decision and just stick with it for a bit…just long enough to afford to move out and get going in a direction.

I have a few things I'm working on right now which I'll talk about soon. But until then, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Bread Pudding Time!

Tonight we're heading over to our friend's place for a Friendsmas Party. It's been a long time since I've made anything for a potluck dinner, so I decided to make Nutella Bread Pudding using King's Hawaiian rolls. The last time I made this delicious dessert was about 3 or 4 years ago for the Nucleus Christmas Party. As you can see below, my iPad mini is my new favorite companion EVERYWHERE. It makes looking at recipes while baking super easy. Target was all out of the classic King's Hawaiian rolls so I just got the mini sub sandwich buns and split them in half.

This bread pudding is actually really easy to make. Just lightly toast some King's Hawaiian rolls, slather some nutella on them, layer a baking dish with them, pour on a custard mixture, then pop them in the oven.

Then it comes out of the oven looking mighty delicious.

You can find the recipe here on CHOW. I just substituted their bread of choice with King's Hawaiian.

Every Day Feels Like Sunday

I just got back from San Francisco yesterday morning at 3am. I've been a bit sluggish since getting back  even though I have quite a few orders to finish and ship. I've been in vacation mode since getting back since it's so close to Christmas, but I know once the holidays are over I have to start looking for a job again. As much as I would like to keep doing the online store full-time, I need a stable income. I also have some pieces I need to work on for the upcoming Bedtime Stories show at Leanna Lin's Wonderland in January. 

Brushing Up

I took some time off from all my holiday show production to do a little bit of sketching. I played around with a Pentel brush pen and tried to become more comfortable using it. I love that it's way more convenient than using a brush & ink and that the brush pen has a refillable cartridge. Here's are a few of my favorites from my sketchbook this week.

The Much-Needed Time Off

It's been almost two months since I left my day job and this is the best thing I've done for myself in a long time. I've mostly been spending my time focusing on my Etsy shop and also doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do as a career. I love everything about working for myself. I love the flexibility, the personal space, spending more time with Sebastian, and spending less money on gas. In this time, I've been able to rediscover the things that I love and the things I like doing. I'm drawing a lot more, being quirky & weird…overall, just being me. I realized that although I love graphic design and that's what my degree is in, I don't really want a graphic design job. I use graphic design complement the other things I do like illustration, handmade goods, running an online store…but I don't want to work in an in-house department or a large firm as a graphic designer.

The only thing left to be desired is: stability. I'm doing ok for now, but I know once the holiday season is over I'll have to get a job. I've been considering taking up a part-time job (that doesn't necessarily have to be in design) just so I have some sort of income since I'm planning on moving out early next year. I just want a job where the work stays at work and where I'm not going home angry & frustrated every day. I want to invest more time in growing my business and growing as an artist. I check job boards weekly and they just leave me feeling depressed because there's rarely any available jobs out there that sounds remotely interesting to me. Sometimes I think it's just difficult finding a job that's a good fit for my personality type.

And that's why I love working for myself. What I love most about running an online store (aside from being my own boss) is the happiness that my products bring to my customers. I love it when customers come back to me saying that they've received lots of compliments on the items I've made for them. Or simply that my products make them smile. I love when they comment on how "well-made" something is…Yeah, that was made with my own two hands! It's the most rewarding feeling in the world and I wouldn't give that up for anything.

M.I.A, but Hello Unique LA

So sorry I've been m.i.a. lately. Things have been super hectic around here and I've been finding it hard to find time to update the blogs. I've been getting tons of orders for the Real Jobs buttons ever since someone posted them on Tumblr. The post is somewhere around 12,000 notes now. I've also been working really hard getting ready for Renegade SF, but then on this last Monday I got a message from Sonja of Unique LA. We were placed on the waitlist after the end of the application period, but now we are officially in!

I'm really excited about this show because it's been two years since the last time I vended. We applied to last year's holiday show but didn't make the cut. It's going to be a very exhausting holiday show season for me, but it feels good to be back in the game.

So if you're in the area, stop by our booth! I don't know what our booth number is yet, but I'll be with Beverly Ealdama and Meu!

A Tiny Bit of Tumblr Fame

Never in my life did I think the best-selling item I've ever made would be an 1 inch button. Since adding them to the shop two weeks ago, they've been selling like hot cakes. I was extremely overwhelmed by how popular "Pillow Fort Architect" became and it is currently the top seller. 

Yesterday, I got two orders — each ordering multiple quantities of just "Pillow Fort Architect" — and I thought "What is going on?!" I looked at my shop stats and it showed Tumblr as one of the top sources but I didn't know exactly from where. Hours later one of my school friends posts a screenshot on my Facebook wall telling me that my stuff was blowing up on her Tumblr feed. I went to investigate and found that the post with my pins has gotten over 7,000 notes (that's reblogs & likes combined). Nothing I have ever posted has EVER gotten anywhere close to that number!

I'm super grateful that people are loving these pins. They've become so popular that I currently have tote bag versions in the works. You can get the pins here.

What Now?

It's been a little over a month since I left my day job and I've been spending most of my time building Quiet Tiger. I've been making pretty steady sales on Etsy which I'm very happy about. But now that I've gotten that ball rolling, I'm starting to concentrate on becausemaybe again. I think the division between Quiet Tiger and becausemaybe are starting to become clear again. And the general direction of my career is starting to become clear also. I've been drawing a lot more and have considered pursuing a career as more of a freelance illustrator than graphic designer. Or at least that's the plan for now. I'm burnt out on the idea of being a designer. I just want to have fun and tell stories. I currently have a few zines in the works, but until then I'm leaving you with this. Feel free to download this and use it as your phone wallpaper.

Weekly Want: Capella Bracelet in Grey

I've been a fan of Son of a Sailor's jewelry for quite some time. For Fall, they released their Polaris collection named after navigational stars. The collection consists of beautiful Czech glass beads, bright colors, and sleek nylon cords. I love how colorful yet simple the pieces are. All the necklaces and bracelets are slender and petite, but don't feel delicate at all. My particular favorite is the Capella bracelet in grey. I love the bright red and turquoise together with the accents of gold.

Available from Son of a Sailor for $22

Best Sweater Ever!

The weather has finally been getting cooler, and I can finally start wearing my Fall clothes! Today, I was finally able to wear my Hetterson sweater for the first time. It is my new favorite sweater, dethroning my Madewell Topnote Cardigan. It's super comfy and made from 100% organic merino wool. It's also extremely well made. I have every intention of wearing this thing to death.

New Specs!

I went to the optometrist today for my annual eye exam. I know some people don't feel the need to see their optometrist often, but I do. Working in a visual field, I want my eyes to be in their best possible health. Last year, I was told that my eyes were a little on the dry side and that I had a scratched cornea. This year, my eyes are perfectly healthy AND my vision has improved. My optometrist looked over my records for the past 8 years and my vision has for the most part stayed the same. My vision has only fluctuated by 0.25 which he told me was really good because most patients keep going up by 1.0 every year. So I'm super happy to hear that my vision and eye health is great! Also, this year is the first year in a long time where I didn't get contacts. I decided to save some money and give my eyes a break from the contacts. So I really had to pick a pair of frames that I absolutely love. These are the ones I decided on.

Percey in Striped Sassafras from Warby Parker

What I Bought Today: 10.28.12

Things have been crazy and I haven't been keeping up with updating the blog. I've been super busy prepping for Renegade Craft SF, as well as fulfilling some Etsy orders, and I'm on the waitlist for Unique LA so I'm just going to double produce as if I got in. If I find out this Friday that I am in fact in, then I'll only have a month to get ready for the show. With things a little stressful around here, I decided to take a break from the grind and did a little shopping for myself. I think of it as buying birthday presents for myself. After dropping off some pins at Flock Shop, Kevin and I headed over to Little Tokyo to do some wandering.

We headed over to Kinokuniya because I wanted to look at their selection of mt washi tape, but I ended up walking out with more than just mt tape.

I picked up a new Scotch tape donut dispenser, this time the "mint" one. I recently misplaced my vanilla "whip" one so I wanted another one. I also picked up the October issue of FUDGE, my favorite Japanese fashion magazine. They also had the September and November issues but at $14 each, I had to talk myself out of buying all three of them. I chose the October issue mostly because the featured outfits in it were more my style. And then of course, I also picked up a two pack of mt tape. I had a hard time deciding which pack I wanted but I ultimately decided to keep it simple and go with the black & white.

Then we headed over to Q Pop because Kevin had to pick up a Joey Chou piece he purchased from the Tokusatsu show. The last few times I've been to Q Pop, I avoid looking at the t-shirts because I always end up buying something. But this time, I decided to take a look and found this amazing shirt from Kevin Dart based on his character Yuki 7. I love it because it's kinda Saul Bass-ish mixed with a bit of Jean-Luc Godard. I also love that it says, "A Woman named Danger."

Meet Me in San Francisco!

I am super excited to announce that I will be vending at Renegade Craft San Francisco this holiday season! I will be sharing a booth with Kevin and this is our first time doing a San Francisco show. We're making a bunch of new stuff as well as some old favorites just for the show. So mark your calendars and don't forget to stop by and say Hi!

These are Real Jobs

This week, I released a new series of pinback buttons. It's been almost a month since I left my day job. And every day, I try to do more work that I want to do. I don't care how silly or random or weird it is…as long as it's true to who am I. The idea for this series came to me when I was in the shower (of all places). I was thinking about job titles and what do they really mean these days. I also thought about some of the popular pins from my youth like "Slacker", "Princess", "Punk", and how they were meant to be some sort of declaration of character. So I took that idea and some of my favorite activities and I put together a list of humorous and light-hearted jobs. I'm pretty sure there are people out there who actually do these things…they just haven't been given the title yet. There will be more in the future, but here's the initial set.

Available now in the shop.

What I Ate: Hot Red Bus

Yesterday, Kevin took me to Hot Red Bus for the first time for lunch. Hot Red Bus is a new British & Indian eatery that opened up a block away from Gallery Nucleus. I had their samosas and a wrap a couple of weeks ago when Kevin brought them with us to the Hollywood Bowl. But this is my first time actually going to the restaurant. They have just softly opened a couple of weeks ago. It's a very casual kind of eatery; a bit like a fast food joint. All the people who work there are super nice and extremely sociable. I ordered the Doner & Chips. If you've never had doner before, it's a mixture of beef and lamb spun on a vertical rotisserie that is then shaved. It came with a side of curry for the chips (you could also ask for it already poured on). They also gave me a side of their yogurt & mint sauce and their tamarind sauce that went perfectly with the meat.

I wish I had taken more pictures of the decor. All the tables are decorated with tabloids and newspaper clippings. The particular table we were at had clippings of Kate Moss and club football (soccer). So if you're ever in the area, I recommend stopping by. I have yet to have something disappointing from their menu.

Weekly Want: Mary Meyer Silk Tee

Keeping with the blue theme set by last week's want, this week I started thinking about this Mary Meyer silk tee and how it had been a while since I last interacted with Whitney (owner of Myrtle) on Twitter or Instagram. We communicate via social media quite often mostly because I never get a chance to stop by the store as much as I would like to…but my wallet thanks me for that! But the last time I was there, I tried on this Mary Meyer top and I instantly knew I was in trouble. It's in the best shade of primary blue. It fits like a dream! and it feels amazing on! If I owned this top, I would wear it to death. But the big killer for me was the price tag…and I also happened to drop a lot of money on that Hetterson sweater. I'm just gonna keep dreaming about it for now.

Available from Mary Meyer for $147

Primary Basics Button Sets

Today, I added these button sets to the shop. They're definitely one of my new favorite things to make. And I just LOVE color!

Primary Basics Set #1

Primary Basics Set #2

Warby Parker Round 3

My annual eye exam is coming up soon which means time to pick new frames!Styles Shown:Miles in HazelwoodSinclair in Burgundy FadeChandler in OlivewoodPercey in Charcoal FadePercey in Striped Sassafras

Weekly Want: Blue Suede Baggu

Every morning my inbox is flooded with tons and I mean TONS of e-blasts from all of my favorite retailers. Lately, I've been trying to scale back and unsubscribe from brands I've either outgrown or the ones I only shop at once a year (that's you, Victoria's Secret, Hautelook, and Forever 21!). But there is one brand that makes me GASP every single time I open their emails—BAGGU. I have three of their regular shopper bags, one baby BAGGU for carrying around lunch, two daypacks, and (my favorite) the duck bag. I LOVE their bags. They're durable, versatile, and they come in the best colors! And every time I open their e-mail, there's another new product in great colors that I love and need. My most recent obsession is their small leather pouch in blue suede. I've been waiting one of their leather pouches for a while but couldn't decide which color I wanted. Then they released the blue suede which is just absolutely stunning!

Available at BAGGU for $20

Hang in There

Last Saturday, Flock Shop celebrated their 5yr Anniversary with their last art exhibition titled "Bright Future". They had recently announced that they will be closing shop in January 2013, which makes me really sad. They have been really supportive of my work since the beginning and they were one of my first stockists, and I'm sorry to see them go. But on a happy note, they plan on keeping their online store open and plan on working out some possible pop-up shops.

Stop by and check out the show including work by Jared Andrew Schorr, Jesse Tise, Patrick Hruby, Owlo, Joey Chou, APAK, Linda Kim, and Kevin Chan (as seen below).

Afterwards, we dropped by Q Pop for the Tokusatsu show. The show was absolutely amazing, but unfortunately couldn't take any pictures. The show is up now until September 30th, so check it out while you still can. Of course, while I was there I had to pick up something by Minifanfan. This time, it was this sweet pack of stickers.

Everything about Minifanfan's work reminds me of the work I want to be doing. Things that are fun, quirky, and light-hearted. This upcoming Wednesday will be my last day working at Richer Poorer. And I'm leaving with nothing else lined up and with no real plan ahead. I'm going to be using this time to rebuild my Etsy shop, work on new work, make new things, and just be. It's a very exciting but scary time. I'm applying for both Renegade SF and Unique LA this year; wish me luck! So keep checking in to see what I'm up to next.

Weekly Want: Color Block Locket

I've been coveting Verabel lockets for a really long time. But when she started collaborating with Alyson Fox, I just died. The locket is vintage with an illustration by Alyson. I love the simplicity and the colors. I feel like in this digital, less people wear lockets. More people are willing to have their loved ones as cell phone wallpaper than a treasure hanging from their necks. I had a gold heart-shaped locket when I was a kid that I wore until the chain no longer fit. Rest assured that if I ever get a new locket, I'd definitely put a picture of Sebastian in it.

Available at Verabel for $65

What I Bought Yesterday: Myrtle

Yesterday, I made a much overdue trip to Myrtle to visit the ever-so-lovely Whitney and to (of course) do some Fall shopping. Upon entering, I was extremely ecstatic to find that this Hetterson beauty was still there. I have been coveting the Hetterson Crenelle sweater for-freaking-ever. Then when I learned that they weren't going to made ever again, I told myself "If Whitney still has it in store the next time I go, I'm going to get it. No excuses." And lucky me, it was the last one AND it was in my size! The minute I tried it on, I knew it was perfect. The fit is impeccable.

Looking closely at the details, it's just so hard to believe that this was made in the small home studio where the pieces were knitted on a machine and then sewn together. Did I mention it's made from organic merino wool…which means it's super soft!

I've also been on a jewelry kick lately. I've been wearing so much more jewelry than I ever did in college but compared to my childhood, I'd say it's about the same amount. Whitney recently got in an array of pieces from dullDiamond and of course I went for the neutral one. I actually wanted one of the more colorful ones, but I just couldn't pass up that black triangle.

So if you haven't stopped by Myrtle yet, I suggest you do. The selection definitely won't disappoint. But don't blame me if it makes you want to walk away with the whole store.

Weekly Want: Doctor Cat

If any of you spend as much time on the internet as I do, you have your favorite web comics; whether it be Cat and Girl or Diesel Sweeties. For the longest time I faithfully followed Sinfest (pun intended?), but one of my new favorites is Doctor Cat — a comic about (you guessed it) a cat who happens to be a doctor. When he's not chewing on the hearts of his patients, he's arguing with Lawyer Cat…because he can't seem to keep himself out of malpractice trouble. Well this week I was informed that they make a Doctor Cat plush! When I heard that JAKKS Pacific was making Nyan Cat toys, I thought it was dumb (although I saw it coming). But I'm totally on board with Doctor Cat!

Available here for $23

But then I saw the Lawyer Cat shirt…
It's totally toss up between which one of these I want more.

Available here for $19.99

And for those of you who haven't read a good web comic lately, I recommend you go catch up on some Doctor Cat…and yes, he's a M.D.

What I Got in the Mail Today

Today, I received this lovely package from the ever-so-sweet Satsuki Shibuya. I was very sad to hear that she was closing up shop, so I rushed to place an order before her goods are gone forever. All her products are handmade and she even ships them in this cute vellum envelope she sewed together.

Inside was a large bento bag with her raindrop pattern that has been screenprinted using soy-based ink and it's lined with green polka dot fabric. It's big enough to carry around lunch or fruit (my favorite!), but right now I'm using it to carry around yarn for my current crochet project. I'm totally in love with it…I wish I had bought one sooner! Thanks Satsuki!

The Glass is Face Full

Tonight, Sebastian was roaming around the desk being his mischievous self when he did something he's never done before. He took a plunge head first into an IKEA glass not full of water. Yep, he stuck his face into the glass just to lick up the 1/4in. of water on the bottom. His water bowl was filled to the brim all day, so he wasn't dying of thirst. Who knows what really drove him to do this other than just being a silly cat.

Make Me Up, Warhol!

I've always loved François Nars' vision of makeup. He really treats makeup like an art, never to be taken too seriously but never clownish either. For years, everyone has raved about NARS cosmetics' blush in Orgasm; and I actually do use it myself. NARS to some may sound totally overhyped but after working in cosmetics and trying almost every brand on the planet, they're still one of my favorites out there. So I thought it was absolutely perfect that they decided to pay tribute to Andy Warhol. Just the way they designed these eyeshadow trios with Warhol's face shows their love for art and also reflects Warhol's screen-printed mass production of art. Word has it there's a 29-piece collection on the way!

*image from T Magazine

Make Good Art

I've been feeling a little blue lately due to my work and living situation. Then I watched this view of Neil Gaiman (of Sandman fame) giving a commencement speech and I was reminded of a few things I've forgotten over the years.

Neil Gaiman Addresses the University of the Arts Class of 2012 from The University of the Arts (Phl) on Vimeo.

What I Bought Yesterday: Daiso Edition

Today while driving back from meeting with a freelance client, I stopped by Daiso since it was on the way home. Going to Daiso is such a big deal for me because there are only two locations in Southern California; both of which have only opened up within the last 5 months. For those unfamiliar with Daiso, it's probably the most popular (only?) chain of Japanese discount stores. Everything in the store is priced at $1.50 unless otherwise marked. I just love their selection vs. your typical American 99 Cent store. And it's really surprising what you would find there! Aside from typical household stuff, they also carried button-up shirts for $8.00 and suspenders! I mostly pick up cute storage and organizational stuff whenever I go.

(Shortly after uploading, I realized most of these pics look like crap. I'm sorry.)

I had to pick up some cute trays! Especially after seeing the one Twinkie Chan picked up a few days ago. I also picked up some envelopes and bags that I intend on using as packaging for my shop. I totally didn't need it but I couldn't resist the bear head tape measure. I don't even care that it's only in metric!

I picked up a $4.00 drawing mannequin for Kevin as my little way of telling him to work on his web comic. I've been going through a bit of an apron phase, so I had to pick up a $3.00 apron for myself. There were $1.50 ones but I didn't like the quality of them. I was a little bitter that I found popsicle molds for $1.50 AND they're in the shape that I want too. I recently bought this kinda fancy popsicle mold that makes twin pops…when all I really wanted was something simple. Another thing I totally didn't need: PANDA BEAR SPONGE PUFF. But whatevs, it's freaking cute!

I'm sorta going through a yellow phase and it just so happens that they last apple trash can they had was yellow. All the other ones were strawberries or some weird floral, but I loved the apples the best! And I can never have enough storage bins to keep all them supplies and tools organized.

This next item is by far the biggest score of the trip: BLACK CAT MUG!!!

Total damage on my wallet: $32

Now I call that a successful trip.

Eating Simple

This past week I got to stay home from work while the entire office was in Vegas for Capsule and Project. One of my big complaints about the location of the office (aside from the distance) is that there aren't a lot of food choices in the area. There are literally only four places we always go to for lunch…and they're all pretty overpriced for being less-than-stellar food. So it was really nice to be able to stay home and make lunch for myself for a change.

After three days, I really wish I could stay home and be a full-time freelancer. I loved every minute of making lunch for myself (something I never have time for anymore) and getting to spend more time with Sebastian. You should see just how much happier he is when I'm at home.

Dying for Dear Creatures Autumn 2012

I've always loved Dear Creatures, but this year's Autumn collection takes the cake! They've brought together several things that I absolutely love: primary colors, 60s Mod, school girls, and cats!…And made a fantastic collection out of them. They sure know how to make my wallet cry tears of joy!

 Have I mentioned how much I love their model? She just so naturally gorgeous.

*images from Dear Creatures

The collection features a lot of great dresses that pull inspiration from the 60s, but with a modern fit. They've put together the perfect color palette to help us forget all about Summer. With Fall brings the return of the collar. It's time to retire the statement collar necklaces of Spring in favor of these school girl classic collars. I haven't quite decided which pieces I'm picking up from this collection, but I really do want it all!