Friends, Foodies & Design Junkies...

I have felt a little guilty about my last two posts on this blog. Not because it isn't what I'm dealing with and excited about right now... but I guess it's the venue. I'm torn between writing about my family... and my 'job'. Well, I don't have a job... per se. I have a passion that I'm hoping will earn me some money. Thing is, I meant it when I said I was following some sage advice... I read that you should be doing for a living what you do when you procrastinate. I doodle, I look up fonts and color palettes... therefore I am. A lovely design life IS for me. For me this is the ultimate serenity where the flourish of a pretty calligraphy font meets those countless procrastination doodles in my sketchbooks. I can't help it that I covet pretty paper and heavily weighted pens. That at this very moment I have coffee, tea, water and soda on my desk simultaneously because I sit here for long periods of time getting inspired, or trying to inspire others.

To remedy these two parts of my heart... I've started a new blog! Just for the design junkies. I will keep My Prairie Valentine strictly for my family and life ranting related posts. And I will have the font and color palette love on my new blog... found here... http://flourishanddoodle.blogspot.com/ 

I hope you will appreciate that decision. I will get back to posting recipes ASAP! I love all of you... and thank you for making me feel like my writing is well... worth writing. I am also working on a new blog template so be patient with me. I'm excited to be working on it and didn't want to start changing parts until I have it all done. xoxo

P.S. I DO want to tell you that I got 3 design jobs today!! Of course they are all pro-bono. blah, blah, blah... Yes, I know. But, I need confidence right now. I feel like I'm building my non-existent portfolio. Bear with me... I am designing posters for 2 big events in the area. My name will be visible and the organizations promised to promote me. That also goes for a logo that I'm designing for a non-profit arts agency!! (who also asked me to be on their board of directors...) As for PAID work from said pro-bono folks, I have leads for a few other logo and branding clients. Just wanted to say... woo hoo!!

Coloring Outside the Lines

I never was good at being perfectly inside the colorbook lines. I always got excited to see the finished product and rushed. I tried the outlining, the soft color... nope. Just always ended up getting a little around the edges somewhere. Now that I'm older I can appreciate that it is just my style. When I was a kid I just thought maybe I should try something else. Maybe I wasn't good at coloring. I've learned that getting a little bit of paint, marker or pencil outside the lines adds a special quality that is mine. It gives me a solid feeling of 'mine'. I own that color outside the line!

I love looking for color swatches and palettes as much as I love fonts. I get tremendous pleasure in matching up a funky pair of colors and watching them harmonize! Even in my own closet, I will grab a peacock teal shirt and start immediately searching for the terracotta or coral hue that will suit my mood... Yes. I like to name my colors as well. As if they were jumping from the pages of Mr. Peterman's catalog... or a nice J. Crew ad. Today I wore grays and purples... It was a gloomyish day. I dress for my mood. Next time I make a reference like that I will attach a photo. I need to take more photos.

Font-tastic Monday. Is this heaven?

I am working very hard on becoming proficient in Illustrator. It is similar to Photoshop but then takes everything up about 20 notches. There is so much freedom to sketch (even in perspective), text, edit patterns, objects and lordy, lordy! Freedom which as you know can be frustrating and exhilarating all at once! Pretty much if you can think it you can do it. I've done a few tutorials on YouTube that still have my head spinning. I've learned some things I can do with lines and swirls that I can't yet comprehend how I will begin to use them. Sigh. Love it! I have to learn to let go and just go for it.

So, I need my focus... I've set aside specific days to work on particular projects. Monday is the day I have set aside for font exploration. Yes... a whole day dedicated to fonts. Downloading them, creating them and designing with them. I am thrown back to the days that my mom would bring me home typography books from the architecture firm. I would browse slowly through them tagging and coloring the pages that I loved.

Another False Start... My Heart Hurts. But It Will Heal.

My first post... Well, I did try to look at the silver lining of things and understand where I was etc. Worried about my life as an architect gone bye-bye... And excited about my life as a mother. As you can guess, I am still glowing and smiling about my little Xan. The budget thing I wanted to do is still SO difficult. When you can't make ends meet I don't even know how to have a budget. Somehow we find a way to make it, but money is so tight it literally takes my breath away. However, being home is still priceless. I love, love, love being at home with the baby. He changes so much everyday. I hang on his every coo and little movements that are turning into real gestures.

I had an epiphany today while browsing pinterest... yes, I'm as obsessed as everyone else... and I realized I was actually missing something significant from my daily life. Believe or not, as an artist here in La Junta, I do not have an office/ craft/ creative/ studio space. I actually haven't had one up and running since I was "removed" from my job in 2010. It is as if my soul is packed away in boxes and bags. I get to haul them out once in a while and make an unbelievable mess that bugs me... but hey what's a gal to do.

Home Sweet Home

I love fall. I think what intrigues me about fall is that it is such a beautifully colorful transition that ends in such a monochromatic season. I am missing Michigan always at this time. The abundance of trees and foliage makes for the most incredible sights. Here on the prairie it goes from a green/ brown hue to just all brown tones. It's always pretty bland and most of the trees look as though they've given up, but nature just keeps pushing them to sprout leaves year after year. But, they don't care.

In Michigan, fall is natures way of giving you a memory to hold on to. It goes all out like fireworks before winter. Leaving you with the impression of lovely rainbow hues I would imagine to get you through the black and white of winter. I know a few of my friends will be walking about seeing the beauty in Michigan through their fancy lenses as well. I am excited to see their work! My friend Amelia has already sent me gorgeous photos of our home and surrounding area. I'm so homesick...

The shed in our backyard

I also love the monochromatic winter. The deep snow. Really lovely deep snow. The shimmering sparkle on the snow in the backyard. The piles of freshly fallen powder that night groomed just before I plow through it with my snowboard. Crisp air that reminds you what air ought to smell and taste like. The mist that comes from your breath. The chill that I get stepping out of the door knowing that when I return home and walk inside it is warm and cozy. There are blankets I've used since I was a baby in this house. The oven is warm and yummy foods are prepared and drinking hot coffee in my grandparents kitchen. The home that will be ours very soon holds so many wonderful memories. We are about to create new traditions and hang on dearly to the old ones.

Home Sweet Home

Unfortunately, we won't be home until after the first of January. Unfortunate because I really wanted to decorate the house for Christmas. It is kind of a famous Christmas house in our town. My grandparents were on Channel 3 news and in the paper for their pretty decor. A tree in every room. And each room had a sort of theme. Growing up as a kid we had presents under every tree. Yup... every tree. Spoiled rotten the four of us. Somehow we all turned out really great! Not one of us is selfish or demanding. We help each other out every chance we get. I guess it just depends on who ya are.

But, I have some great Christmas ideas to get me through this time of homesickness. I'm making my grandmother's recipes for my family. Homemade caramels, cookies, and cracker toffee. I hope it will help me connect and feel closer. I need that right now. I will share my recipes as I begin making them in a couple of weeks. Please share your traditions and recipes too!

Reading Anything, Worth Reading Again?

My test of a good book is that I can't wait to pass it on to a friend. My test of a great book is that I not only circulate it, but that I want to keep going back to it. Learn more from it. Read it again when I have grown in some way that it might tell me something new. I certainly judge a book by its cover as well as its insides... Don't judge me yet! It is truly because I love typography and clever graphics. It's not my favorite way to choose a book but sometimes when I just want a good read and haven't had any suggestions from friends or read a good review, I do rely on a good cover to entice me.

Addicted to Netflix Send Help

Tuesday began as a wonderful day! Monday felt so painfully long with Xan getting up so early and not sleeping on Sunday night. He had a rough time sleeping. I wasn't sure if it was his stuffy nose or if it was his dreams? Or is it my addiction to Netflix?

Yes. Netflix is a terrible addiction of mine... how did this happen? I don't have cable or a t.v. antenna so that's part of it. Instead I have Netflix with scores and scores of television, movies and documentaries. Oh, how I love documentaries!! Watching my wish list of movies is more difficult since they aren't all on instant, but the documentaries are wonderful. When Xan is dozing off in his bouncy seat after a bottle, I rock him and let the Netflix marathon begin! I'm watching all of the Alias episodes right now... Already finished Sherlock Holmes, Merlin, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and started the X files. Why do I feel so guilty??

I Heart Breakfast

I can eat breakfast 3 times a day. Maybe more! When we lived in Denver we would walk to a couple different breakfast joints. Jelly, Snooze, the place that starts with an M over by REI (LOL)... and Spices. Oh do I miss them dearly! At Jelly, my absolute favorite, it was a constant foodie adventure... what to try next when all you wanted was the same thing you had the last trip. Oh yum. So, I try to recreate some of those delicious experiences at home now. But, honestly... it just isn't the same. I would love to shadow the guy who makes up all the hashes there. They are incredible... craving one now...

11/4 Weekly Menu and Grocery List

This week was great for budget and menu. I came in at just $128 and some change for about 2 weeks of meals and even some yummy desserts and snacks! Yes, some of these recipes will be frozen for next week... That's just a huge time saver. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yeah... I'm a little proud I have to say. But recipe research goes a long way. If ya can do it... it pays off. So, I've done it for you! Check this out and see what ya think...

If Chicken Were a Vegetable... OH, and Turkey too...

John and I eat vegetarian a couple times a week. I go back to my veg roots and whip up some of my old favorites. But damn... chicken keeps getting in the way of going full time vegetarian for John. I've tried introducing the fake stuff into some recipes. It works in a couple of my comfort food recipes but not when you just want a nice juicy piece of grilled chicken and veggies. Or a good turkey burger.

We have cut out all red meat, and we don't eat pork either. Just keeping low fat and low cholesterol keeps us pretty fit without even trying. I've noticed that when you make a burger or a steak... fried potatoes and other unhealthy sides come into play pretty naturally. And even if ya do just steam some veggies, take a look at a label for what a quarter pound burger contains. Yikes...

Plus, I've mentioned before that we live near hog and cattle farms... uh, yeah. All you need is a little window into the soul of that industry to make you run the other way. I'm thinking that maybe if we moved near a chicken operation we'd be completely done with eating animals. I've watched what some chicken processors do to their animals via Food Inc. and other documentaries. I do not buy from them (I will not mention names). I only buy organic, period. Someday I may even raise my own! Until that day, we will probably continue to eat as healthy as possible. So, I have been looking up some great healthy chicken recipes that I will share with you!