wordless wednesday

a sweet shop

Some pics from one of our happy finds in Phoenix, Smeeks Sweet Shop. Love the bright colors, love the candy, obviously, love the robin's egg blue with red and orange, love the big glass jars filled with treats, love the orange crush poster, love the gnome home. Love a holiday embracing highly saturated reds and pinks, candy (chocolate candy), and flowers! and some cupcakes...

Feliz Navidad!

If authentic Mexican food doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit... well, at least you can enjoy the pretty rojo and verde! A couples of weeks ago Laurence and I got to visit Phoenix, sunny and perfect every day. After arriving I made a list of things we wanted to do while in Arizona- I know, shocking. Of course there were several "must visit" restaurant recommendations, but at the top of our list was finding the local "hole in the wall" type of restaurant were we could get some authentic tacos and Mexican Coca-Colas. I knew we were getting close when I saw the laundry mat and dollar store. And, I knew we were very close when all of the Hispanic construction type workers stared us down as we made our way to a table, pretending our best to be familiar with the restaurant's protocol.

Mmm, tacos. I tried a few different types on our first visit, but when we returned I knew I just wanted the chicken tacos. Perfection piled with cilantro and seasoned with lime, served with a side of rice and some cucumber slices- simple, fresh, and non-greasy authentic Mexican food! That's right, we stopped back by on our way to the airport our last day in Phoenix. This time we entered as veterans, however I think we got some laughs when I pulled out the camera:) Our waitress was happy to see us again and even gave us some lamb soup on the house, also served with lime and cilantro, two staple worthy ingredients I think.

I have lots more to post about from our wonderful sunny vacation in December, but until then... Feliz Navidad!

September Favorites

Some favorite September colors:

Some favorite September ingredients...

nutmeg and cinnamon!

Some background music while I bake :)

Pumpkin bread hot out of the oven!

Thanks to Sarah Barry of literally, a spoonful for the yummy recipe! Thanks to the Porter kids for tasting and modeling. And, thanks to Laurence for bringing home to me an heirloom pumpkin the first month we were married. The chopping, carving, steaming, pureeing, blending, splattering, and cleaning I fondly look back on as my induction into domesticity. I know it's probably no better than the canned pumpkin that's already nicely pureed and contained for great convenience, but it's become something of a tradition now. Last year we even went through the pumpkin pureeing ceremony twice! I think we'll stick with one per season from now on because, as you can see, we still have some in the freezer to finish up before this years' celebratory fall squash makes its way home from the farmer's market!

Kindred Styles

The owner of a shop at the market where I work asked me about my real work one day. I got out a Peppered Paper business card to show her, and she immediately asked if I would design a business card and some new tags for her. I think she liked my style. She loved the hand cut type and bright colors- just two of my favorite things. Now, if only I could get connected with others who share this kindred style.

I really haven't done much graphic design work, and it's mostly just been for my own marketing, but I love when my style naturally expresses the idea of a business or concept. With a business name of LaDeDa and a shop named Accentuate the Positive, I think we were off to a good start. I ended up designing six different sized tags for her along with a business card. Some tags were tiny... with lots of info get on them, but I think they'll compliment her merchandise perfectly! I'm glad she was so drawn to the reds and oranges because otherwise I probably would have tried to play if safe with more quite colors, like green or something.

Anyway, check out her shop and new merchandise tags next time you stop by the Southern Market. She does have really cute gift items- I think we have a similar shopping style too!

Red, White, and Blue

"Cherry Smash" left on our doorstep by a neighbor, lots of Queen Anne's Lace all around us, and five pounds of blueberries picked... I love summer. Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

Funky Safari

Here's a fun birth announcement canvas I recently created. And, you should know by now... I love the colors! Bright and happy and fun! No need for baby blue and pastels for this little fellow! He's already got an adventurous spirit, thanks to his mom's (and/or dad's) taste. I matched the design for his canvas to his bedding, which has lots of fun safari animals in greens and blues. I especially like that this piece will still be appropriate for his room as he grows up. I included a few photos to show my "peppered paper" borders, which I adhere to these canvases, so they're ready to hang as is.

I think a pink and green safari scene could be just as much fun as the blue and green... any adventurous baby girls out there? Here are some more samples of birth announcement canvases I've created, and I've got a few more to post soon. These can be ordered through my etsy shop as well. I'm still coming up with some standard designs for boys and girls, but in the meantime I'd love to hear your ideas.

orange you going to give me a bite?

Just one last blog post inspired by our trip to Florida... not about wildlife, nature, or sunshine, but simple sustenance. We camped the first few days of our trip, and because we couldn't travel with our camp stove our morning adventures usually began in search of coffee. It just so happens that there are Dunkin' Donuts are all over Florida. There's something about the pink and the orange logo that's hard to resist. Warm, bright, round, and sugary... it's as if the logo itself could be the sprinkles on top of a donut. I may not have thought this through thoroughly, but I'm willing to bet I'd like any product that can use orange and pink for it's logo. The coffee's alright, and the donuts aren't my favorite, but their bright and welcoming logo's sold me. (maybe the caffeine and sugar a little bit too)

Another product I buy purely because I like the logo and packaging, which also makes great use of these warm happy colors...

And, some Florida wildflowers that use the same striking color combinations...

Corkscrew Swamp

Color and Texture in the Sunshine State

some patterns, sizes, and colors from our trip...

barefoot beach in Naples

maybe my favorite type of food...

one day we'll go to Greece and eat lots of olive oil and filo dough...

for now just Tarpon Springs

Historic Ybor City

Cuban food for lunch

markets...

orange, red, purple, greens, and lots of texture

sunflowers in the sunshine