Life Update

School + Internship + 45 Minute Commute + A Family = No Spare Time. This is normal. I'm used to it. But it does mean that the new season of Downton has to wait until after graduation. Monday-Thursday, I leave home at 8am and get home between 6 and 7. Friday is a home day. A bless'd, welcome home day.

If you aren't on facebook and friends with me, then you probably haven't seen my current profile pic. This is what it looks like. Amn't I glorious? (That's a word, you should use it.)

It's my last semester. I'm learning HTML/CSS coding, prepping my portfolio for the job search, learning about Islamic art, learning about conspiracy theories. Fun fun.

My internship is at HUB-BUB. I do graphic design, etc. "Etc." means some light marketing, generating ideas for exhibitions and implementing them, wine tasting and bar tending. I love working there! It's an awesome organization and the people are just my kind.

Watching/Listening/Wearing/Reading/Wanting

The Head and the Heart

I'm kind of obsessed with this band right now. I listen to their albums a lot and like them more and more. There's only two, so get on spotify and check them out already.

It's super exciting to find a great, new band. Well, not necessarily new. I got crazy excited when (after like a year) I popped in a Quasi CD a friend gave me. Like, why did I wait on that one? Anyway, there's so much I like about The Head and the Heart. The sound is kind of americana, chill, hip and sexy. And it's catchy which is really damn important to me.

My favorite of their songs just might be Let's Be Still.

Etsy

Boy, I've added a ton of fresh stuff to my shop. There's a range of different sizes even though there's mostly just my own body modeling. Don't let the pictures fool you, look at the measurements in the listing.

Heads up, I'm planning a new name and look for my etsy shop. Excited!

SHOP

Word

"...we must remember, that while language constitutes a barrier, poetry itself gives us a reason for trying to overcome the barrier. To enjoy poetry belonging to another language, is to enjoy an understanding of the people to whom that language belongs, an understanding we can get in no other way…" -excerpt from T.S. Eliot's Nobel Prize banquet speech, 1948

Remembering T.S. Eliot, who died on this day, Jan 4, in 1965.

Lucy, An Amazing Gifter

Now that Christmas is a distant memory, this may seem late to mention. But my friend Lucy is a really gifted gifter. Here's what she gave me for Christmas this year, in a sugar skull/pop art bag, on New Year's Eve, over sushi:

A hand-drawn and lettered Dune-themed card that she made.

A message in a bottle necklace in which she hand-lettered an Edna St. Vincent Millay quote.

She customized the wrapping paper with Julian Koster of Neutral Milk Hotel and glitter.

A box containing:

star confetti

mac'n'cheese lipgloss

cake vodka

an out of print Lemony Snicket book

Every single detail of this was thoughtful, personal and special. Gifting is a talent and she's got it!

Tatspiration

This year, I'm probably going to get a tattoo. It will probably be something really nerdy, like SPQR or a Frank Herbert/Daniel Handler crossover. Regardless of what it is, it will be planned long in advance and done by someone good. Here's some stuff I've been looking at that I like for various reasons.

via

I like that kind of arm-ish location. I like the idea of using a natural history illustrative look.

Do you have tattoos? Do you have advice?

The Last Chapter of 2013

It's been hard for me to blog lately. There's a lot of stuff going on in our family and I've felt like being more private. (Probably not as dramatic as my self-portrait above would have you imagine, lol.) But our holidays were good. Lots of family, lots of food.

I'm so glad 2013 is over. I've heard the same from a lot of folks. 2014 will be a better year.