for years, i’ve been wanting a kitchen aid stand mixer. pretty much every time i would cook anything requiring mixing, i would tell my mom how much i wanted a mixer. i looked at them online, pointed them out in other people’s kitchens and generally was obsessed. my mom was always sweet about it, but told me i would have to wait till i was going to get married and put it on my wedding registry. i usually sighed and convinced myself to be relatively patient.
we were opening presents on christmas–things like nice socks and new work shirts–pretty much what i expected because i enjoy practical things. there was this one, large box looming in the corner. knowing my mom, there was no telling what it was… but it was heavy. i’m generally difficult to surprise (and hate large scale surprises)–i can go through a stack of magazines or send my mom a link of something online that she’s probably already picked out for me. anyway, i was totally puzzled. i began unwrapping this brown box… then cut the tape along the top and pulled the flaps back. MUCH to my surprise, i saw the top of a kitchenaid mixer peeping through. i’ve probably never been so shocked, unsuspecting and giddy all at the same time. i’m pretty sure my chin dropped to the floor as i looked up at my mom in disbelief. she just smiled and said, “well, i just couldn’t let someone else give it to you–i wanted it to be from me.” [it was such a part of my growing up and family time in the kitchen] it was a WONDERFUL surprise and i’m super excited to get lots and lots of use out of it!
eep! it’s so pretty!
of course i had to try out the mixer so i used it to make some brownies although it’s wasn’t really necessary.
oh, and check out these cool ice trays. the bottom is rubbery, so you can pop the curved ice out one section at a time. they don’t really stack though. :-\
so i’m a few days (or couple of weeks) behind posting this blog. since the brownies, i made a chocolate pie and had the best whipped cream on top–something i’ve just never been able to achieve with a hand mixer.
oh, hey there!
welcome to my blog type thing.
holidays at home: a pictorial summary
this holiday season i was lucky enough to get to take a week off to spend with families and loved ones. here’s a quick recap:
our cousins anna, luke, will, john, sandie, shellie and stacie came to visit (and see santa’s wonderland). we shared a meal while they were in cs. it was great to see the little ones–we hadn’t met the boys in real life and anna was tiny the last time we saw them!
then, i went to belton with brandon. we had some pre-christmas celebrations with his fam.
after a few more days of work, i headed to texarkana. there i had a delightful time with loved ones and i got to spend some time away from the computer (finally).
in case you missed it, bode and i sent out an e-christmas card. savin’ the trees.
my sister was a debutante this year. here are photos from the presentation and ball. we were blessed to have many family members attend; hadley’s super sweet roommates and brandon made it to town, too.
finally, one of our friends got married on new years eve. she had a bbq a few days before… which, of course, warranted the making of more photos.
new year, new post
gotta at least start off blogging, right?
i’ve decided to start another 365. this is gonna be a big year, so it would be nice to document, i need something to make me be more creative on a daily basis and it’s nice to have a body of work to look back over and see stylistic changes as well. as with anything, practice makes you quicker and better.
starbucks offered a special deal for one of their 12 days of merry–purchase a tumbler for $20 and receive free coffee for the month of january. in need of a new tumbler, i considered myself for a candidate for this promotion. i liked the construction of the tumbler and since i don’t have any more morning classes to be late for, i opted to shell out the funds. three days in and i’ve received my free coffee each day. it’s great–and a great idea for starbucks because they probably don’t lose that much money on brewed coffee (not to mention i bet a lot of people purchased the tumbler and won’t actually use it much). i’m sure starbucks knows what they’re doing–i probably think about it more than most and i’ll probably get super used to going each day before work, so i’ll want to continue even after my coffee isn’t free anymore.
this is not really like me, but i’ll go ahead and blog about something i recently bought. when i was home, i used my sister’s brush a lot and decided that since mine was melted and old, it was probably time for me to upgrade my own. i purchased this purple wigo ceramic. tried it out this morning and i’m excited to say that i’m quite happy with the purchase.
the amanda jill moved out yesterday. i will miss her always cheer, coffee and crafty projects.
rachel started her job today and is moving rooms upstairs. lots going on around the house!
looking forward to a couple of weeks of just work, crafty projects and cooking before my last semester starts. if it’s possible to feel old and young at the same time, i do.
Tagged 365, brush, free coffee, purchases, roommates, starbucks, thoughts, wigo trash the moleskines! flee america!
i’ve been amazed by the recent uproar over art/design contests hosted for the american jobs act by art works and for moleskinerie by moleskine. i think people are being dumb. that’s right, i think these contests are great. here’s why:
- they promote creativity
- there’s no entry fee
- the winner gets a prize/paid for his work
- if you don’t win, you retain the rights to your image and can use it elsewhere down the road (participating in one of these contests is no different than creating an illustration because you felt like it without getting paid–and hey–you might even win. if not this time, maybe next.)
- sure, they could have chosen one designer to provide one design and paid them the amount of the prize, but sometimes it’s nice for the little guy to have the chance at a break through (and sometimes he produces better work)
here’s what i can’t comprehend:
- if you don’t want to “waste your time and not get paid,” DON’T ENTER. it’s a free country–no one’s telling you that you must work for free.
- tamu aias is having a poster design contest–the winner gets his poster published. how is this any different? OMG THE LOSERS WILL HAVE DONE WHAT THEY LOVE FOR FREE!
- people will pay a hefty sum per submission to enter some art/design/photo contests–yet they’re saying this is worse?
- why don’t i hear people whining about contests like shirt.woot and threadless?
- how the opportunity to become a part of something will make brand loyalists throw the product they once loved and cherished in the trash. seriously? grow up.
on white walls
it’s amazing how much a little paint can change the color of a room… i’m not even talking dramatically colored paint–just different shades of pale neutral.
take for example this apartment in sweden: 
image: www.gandana.com
and this one in texas:
image: www.olx.com
i realize they’re quite different places, so it’s rather difficult to compare, but my opinion: the white is so much cleaner and crisper… plus all the large windows, but that’s beside the point. i don’t understand why EVERYONE–at least in this town–thinks that they must paint apartment interiors the same (imo awful) shade of [dirty] beigy-tan. what’s wrong with white? or even a cool grey-ish white instead of something that looks like you rubbed dirt all over the walls?
i begged my landlord and painted my walls a pale aqua last year. it changes my mood so much to be able to wake up in a color that is peaceful, clean and inspiring. my sister’s new room is ice periwinkle–it too is so refreshing and uplifting.
it seems as though with all the competition (and desires/claims) to be different, someone would choose a slightly different neutral to put on the walls… and that it may yield better results than painting the outside of the buildings yellow and green and blue, but that’s just my opinion.
skipping ahead and returning to other things
confession: i have a new addiction. it is called pinterest. digital inspiration boards, visual bookmarks, call it what you will, but it’s brilliant. i have so so so many bookmarks for photographers and designers and things of the sort, but most of the time, i remember oh yeah, i want that guy who did photos with the yellow eyeshadow and flowers, not “oh yes, rankin.” photos > r > rankin. let’s be real. this site helps eliminate that, keep things neat and tidy, presents fantastic thumbnails or larger views with easy targeting back to the original link and has an accompanying app. the app still needs a lot of work, but it’s there with potential during times of boredom or need.
also, i love minus the bear. great work jams.
it’s may! it’s may!
may is one of my favorite months–so much good stuff happens at the end of the school year. the weather is great and i get to wear shorts. it’s also filled with events and fun things and less mundane and routine than the rest of the year (or so it seems).
school pretty much finished up a couple of weeks ago (sans one class, but most of the weight was lifted). that happened just in time for the brazos dance collective spring concert: trans:figures. i always enjoy show week–tons of rehearsals and lots of dancing/staging/creativity (along with late nights, hard work and sore bodies). brandon was nice enough (or maybe crazy enough) to commit to being the lighting tech and basically running our show on his busiest week of school. he did an awesome job and the whole show was a success with a packed house both nights. yay for modern dance getting exposure in the brazos valley. because we didn’t have any pics from all year, we took a couple afterwards:
one of my marketing friends, janelle, had a cinco de mayo party, that we felt was appropriate to call the cinco de mayo clinic party since we are all reading dr. berry’s management lessons from the mayo clinic book for our services marketing class. since we couldn’t find the exact wording in a banner, i did a quick little photoshop number on the image below (lindsay, janelle, brittney, kristen, me):
continuing with the fun fest, this past weekend was viz-a-go-go 18. brandon had his name all over lots of the pieces and bdc performed his complexity piece to open the show. i also appeared in a couple of other places. it’s so much fun to be able to take part in creative projects. i love hanging out with artists/designers. also, brandon’s family was in town for his brother’s birthday, too; it’s always fun to spend time with them and his mom shot a couple of pics of us being silly:
red velvet
my sister will forever make fun of me because about a year ago i was surprised to hear that red velvet cakes had chocolate in them. i guess i just never really thought about it. a photo diary of my baking last week:
summer goals
1) create more
2) blog more
3) carry my camera more
edit:
4) complete a video project
5) cook and cook healthy
6) get up when my alarm goes off
7) work out almost every day
a challenge for time management
With school projects for JCP and Chevrolet getting into full swing, this semester is definitely going to be a challenge in time management and scheduling… probably more scheduling because they’re all fun projects that I can pull all-nighters to crank out, but also I am part of teams that have to meet (and preferably not at 4a).
Looking forward to a week of photography next week:
Monday – TAMU Dance Program spring photoshoot
Tuesday – MS Marketing students professional headshots
Thursday – Barbara Bush Literacy Corps/ Reading Discovery
Friday – Red Dress Fashion Show @ the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
Good thing I got another card and additional battery for Christmas. Olli is going to get quite a workout.
