theBUNGALOO!

I have some ridiculously talented friends. There's Julie, Ms. Writing-Teaching-Yogaing Extraordinaire. Then there's crafty Cara, who dreamed up her business of creating recycled candles and and other goodies, landing her smart self in Country Living. Kristin travels the world for a living, Susan whips up the most gorgeous earrings and other lovelies, and Mrs. French takes ethereal photographs that even Urban Outfitters can't resist.

You're all pretty swell, really.

So, I gotta spread the love to my friend John, owner and creator of theBungaloo! He's pretty amazing, too. I bought this scarf (in brown) from him and proudly wore it yesterday. I was bored in a meeting and spent a good 5 mintues or so trying to figure out how he so immaculately created the silkscreen for this:




He also makes some pretty clever T-shirts:


But his bread and butter are his posters and paper stuff, which a few people in the media have caught wind of, here and here:

I may have also bought a test print journal, and he may have thrown in some magnets with my order. Maybe:




Shop around at theBungaloo!'s etsy shop, whydontcha?

7 months in and 1 month away

I have one month until the half marathon.

And I've been in New York for seven.

These are two surprising facts, both of which I just realized on my walk home tonight, and both of which just happen to fall on the exact same day. (Wait, did I move to NYC on the 28th or the 26th of August?) Anyway.

Here's the thing about training for something like a half marathon when you're so not a long-distance runner: Every single Sunday, I run more than I ever have before. Ever! So each week I pat myself on the back and congratulate myself. Even if I walked a little bit. Even if I groaned up the hills. Every week I pass a personal best. And that, my friends, is pretty cool. Oh, and I also get to run across the Brooklyn Bridge whenever I want. That's a great training path.

And just for kicks, I added up how much I've run since February 2 (the day I officially started "to train"): nearly 110 miles. One hundred and ten miles! Wow.

That said, running 13.1 in one fell swoop still scares the bejeezus out of me.

But back to the being in New York for seven months. There are a few crazy things about that too, including a) seven months in was about the time in Portland that I started scheming for my exit strategy. I remember specifically saying, I'll make a decision on April 1. I won't worry about what to do with my life until April 1. That was nearly a year ago. Wow.

And b) some days, it feels like I've been here for years. Years. Like today when I realized that I no longer have road rage (being without a car for two years helps you forget). Instead, I have sidewalk rage. Like, oh my god, can you please not blow your cigarette smoke out on me? And, ah geez, must you really get distracted and window shop right in front of me?

And then I saw myself in a window reflection being all cranky and tired and disheveled and, man, did I look unattractive. That's when I decided to breathe a little bit and get over it. No one likes to see a hardened New Yorker only seven months in, right?

So anyway, here's what's been up lately, aside from getting up at 5:45 am and running, working 'til 6ish, meeting up with folks after work, and freelancing a bit on the side. Oh, and dating. (Another post, another post, my friends.):

I went snowboarding for the first time at Mt. Snow in Vermont. Although I certainly wasn't Sean White, I wasn't awful. But I'll admit: I'm a pretty sporty girl, and this was the hardest physical thing I've every tried. (But ask me again after April 26.)

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I painted my room yellow. This yellow to be exact:


I love it in the morning, but I hate it in the evening. It changes quite a bit, like my mood. So maybe it's a good color for me? I also swapped out some curtains, threw in a vase of pink tulips, and officially re-awoke my decorating fever. I didn't realize how I was totally accepting my blah room, and not really settling in to this apartment. I'm not sure why—maybe I just thought I wasn't staying here, so why move in all the way? But that's just silly—I live here! I live here.

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I'm still working and loving my job, and I survived a round of lay-offs. A collective phew!, please. Now I'm good 'til July when we start mulling over cost cuts again, unless something miraculous happens in the economy and companies start hiring again! And journalism thrives again! We can only hope.

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My parents got a puppy. Her name's Lexie (at least for today. She's also been Annie and Frannie. I was pullin' for Lucy and Francie. But alas, Lexie) and she's pretty stinkin' cute, wouldn't you say? Tess would very much approve.


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I'm planning my 2009 trip to Portland. And I cannot wait. Seriously.

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And lastly, I've been re-thinking what I want to do with this blog. After all, I started it to document all my moving around, but I think I'm staying put for the time being. And I've realized if you can't be creatively inspired in New York, where can you be? So stay tuned for that.

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Oh, one more thing. I've learned the value of sleep. After a good three or four weeks of going to bed at 1 am and getting up at 5:45 am to run upwards of three miles, then putting in at least an 8-hour day, I realized I wasn't being very nice to myself. (Or to my mother, who asked, "why are you so bitchy all the time?" Sorry, Mom.) So although it's only 10:20, it's sleepytime. G'nite.

John W Golden prints

Found John W Golden's etsy shop via Decor8. I love his simple graphic typography, especially his Moniker Series, prints of some of the best cities' nicknames. My favorites (naturally):


Just add in "Cowtown" for KC and, um [insert nickname for Des Moines here], and I'll have a full set.

Also love:

And I'll leave you with this print, from his Dogs and Cats series, as an homage to my Tess and Haley:


Oh, and one for Rigby, too (can't ever leave her out):

Call on Me

After traveling to Des Moines and having nothing but a spare Post-it to write my contact information on, I figured it was time to get my own business cards. After all, who knows how long it will be before I get a real job. I couldn't stand the idea of getting some run-of-the-mill cards from Kinko's or something, so I took a bit of time this afternoon to shop around some letterpress sites (twist my arm, really). I figured I could "gift" myself some personal letterpress since I love it so much ... besides, a creative field deserves creative cards, right? Here's some of what I found:

I love the vintage typewriter (the exact replica of the typewriter I'd actually like to find!) on this style from blackbird letterpress:


Also loved the classic style on these cards from Dolce Press:


These, though, were my favorites, from Brooklyn Social Cards (via Design*Sponge):



In the end, my budget wouldn't let me spend too much (most of these were upwards of $150 or $250 (!) for 200 cards), so I counted myself lucky when I found The Mandate Press's cute and relatively inexpensive letterpress calling cards. They're just $95 for 250 cards.

I'm now the lucky recipient of these, The Femme Fatale:


Love 'em.