The Overflow

You may be wondering where I have been as of late. If you are a client, then I’m sure you are happy to hear I am back in the office and able to fulfill your requests.

It is not often that I get a vacation these days, and even less often that I can take a week break from everything and jet-set to another state. This must be why I had such a fantastic time in Southern California this past week. I flew to L.A. all by myself to stay with my sister for the week of thanksgiving. I had a blast and if it weren’t for my husband and daughter I’m not sure I would have returned to Houston!

I flew in the saturday before thanksgiving and was wisked away to the grocery store upon my arrival to get all the ingredients we needed for our thanksgiving meal. Sara and I were cooking the sides for the thanksgiving meal and we thought it best to go ahead and get the grocery store chores out of the way.

Saturday night we met up with Sara’s coworkers down the street from the Capitol building (where she works) to have dinner. I can’t say we were overly impressed with the waitress but otherwise it was a fantastic time. I absolutely loved her coworkers and they were beyond friendly to me. I felt like I made instant friends with all of them right away. From dinner we headed to the Henry Fonda to see Friendly Fires. The show was AMAZING. I don’t think I’ve seen a better group live – they were magical and the crowd was very much into the performance. After that we went to Bardot… a very interesting Hollywood experience. Sara has friends that work there – the crowd was very “hollywood” but the place was awesome. I definitely could see the attraction.

The Capitol Gang

Sunday we got up and went to Temescal Canyon to go hiking. 5 miles to be exact. Not the best thing to do after a late night out. I managed to make it with 2 heavy cameras on my back and a starbucks in my stomach but I wouldn’t recommend that. After that we chilled out the rest of the day until my friend Stos came over for a visit and we went to Monsoon for some sushi. I hadn’t seen Stos in YEARS so it was a fantastic reunion. She drove up from San Diego just for me and it was lovely.

From the roof of Capitol Records

Monday was spent shopping on Melrose and then going to the Capitol building where I got to take pictures from the roof top. Now THAT was amazing, and the work environment was awesome. Sara clearly has her dream job (if you ask me) and it was awesome seeing her coworkers again and just checking out this round building they work in. I even got to watch their rockband practice (which was totally entertaining). After that we went to Jimmy Kimmel Live and got to sit in the green room as the guests strolled in (Heidi Klum and Ron Artest) ate some tasty food and had a couple glasses of wine. Rima was such a doll for letting us check out the green room… and besides that she is just the sweetest person in the world to talk to. That evening my friend Steve dropped by Sara’s place so we could catch up – also amazing, how I missed that boy!

The Gardens @ the Getty

Tuesday we did more relaxing, went to the gym in the morning and then to the Getty in the afternoon. Nobody told me how beautiful the Getty grounds were, almost as amazing as the artwork in the buildings. We took lots of pictures and had a fantastic time checking out the artwork. That night we made dinner and relaxed.

iPhone shot of Santa Monica Beach

Wednesday Michelle came into town and we had a fantastic reunion. Went to the beach and got a little sun. That evening I met up with my friend Cory at the best sushi place in town and feasted on all kinds of raw fish and sake. I got to meet Cory’s amazing girlfriend (love you Pyari!) and even got to see their new apartment. Cory showed me his fantastic jewelry collection and perhaps some day I will be able to buy a piece from him. That would be AMAZING.

Thursday was the big thanksgiving dinner and Chris & Phil’s house… Sara’s friend Dave came with us as well and we had a great time watching Texas beat A&M, the food was amazing – the turkey was to DIE for. I will be honest – I didn’t expect much from 2 27-year-old bachelors but wow!

Michelle @ Ponto Beach

Friday we drove to northern SD… Ponto beach to be exact. We went for a walk around a lagoon. We had lunch in Encinitas and then we went to these amazing gardens where I took TONS of pictures. We spent the rest of the time on Ponto beach and just relaxed. This area was Michelle’s stomping ground and I can see why she loved it so much. It was a fantastic surfing community where everyone was very friendly and easy going.

Then I flew home on Saturday and reunited with my beautiful little family!!! Thanks to sister Sara for a fantastic week that I will never forget!

My favorite beer also has fantastic packaging for the holidays:

Apparently being a graphic designer is not enough for me. I’m constantly chasing new creative adventures and this time around it is crochet. Crocheting handbags to be exact. I started making them a couple of months ago and now I’m hooked. I’ve even sold a few! Here are a some I have completed:

The “Retro” bag is still for sale: $30. I *just* completed it this week!

This “Green Flower Bag”  was a special request and already sold.

This “Blue Flower Bag” was made for my sister.

And this was my very first completed bag… made just for fun. Hmmm who to give it to?

Now I’ve begun making these bags to sale. They are approximately 9-10 inches wide and 8 inches deep. The base of the bag is about 3 inches wide. They aren’t huge but great little handbags for keeping your wallet, keys, phone and checkbook. They come complete with magnetic snap to keep your belongings safe and secure. In most cases they are made from cotton yarn and you can choose the color if you like. I reserve the right to find a fun fabric for the inner-lining because that’s my favorite part.

You might think it strange that I have my own design business yet I blog about other designers. As a designer myself I’m always searching for inspiration that may allow me to grow and better myself creatively. Ken Taylor’s work definitely pushes that creative envelope. Combining his skills as an illustrator with that of a designer, he’s the master of lively and purely unique art. Ken resides in Australia and the majority of his clients are in the music business which allows for much more creativity in the design process. Check out a few samples of his work, and if you like what you see definitely check out the rest of his portfolio on his website: http://www.kentaylor.com.au/