February Wrap-up

This has been a hectic week. If you follow me on twitter, you know I have been deeply entrenched in the Eggplant War. Who knew Eggplant (color) would be so difficult to define and match?! Trying to color match a piece of colored paper and an inkjet print-out to a color digital press printout has proved to be my biggest challenge as a freelance designer. The Eggplant War has given me a crash course in vendor diplomacy, a refresher in color theory, and reminder of Murphy's Law. I have lost sleep, fallen behind schedule, and questioned my sanity. There have been many lessons learned. The most important? Large areas of dark, saturated color are NOT a good idea. I hope pray that my clients are pleased with the final product.

I am in the midst of creating invitation mock-ups using these gems. It's starting to look like purple is the color of the year.

I have also made a concerted effort to participate in activities that were not work-related. Here are some quick shots to give you an idea of what I've been up to. There will be full posts later.

Wendy & Lior's son - Benjamin


Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) - Urban Light Exhibit


Enjoying the LACMA Papparazzi-style with Pamela


Pichu, Natalie, Greg & Tico


Pichu & Tico

Sadly, I have no photos from two different lunch dates. I discovered my new favorite Thai restaurant, Sompun Thai, with Amber. I also celebrated Ivy's birthday at Granville Cafe at the Americana. Joshua has gotten so big and I have the sore arms to prove it.

That's my week in a nutshell. I'll be back once I've caught up with work and sleep.

Unique L.A. - Spring Show

Mark your calendars and tell a friend. Unique L.A. has announced its Spring Show for May 2 & 3. I attended the show in December and was not disappointed. If you love design, craft, and art, this is not to be missed. For more info, check out their website.

What's your style?

I'm not always a big fan of quizzes, but I saw this one and was intrigued. It was quick. You look at about 20+ rooms and rate whether you love or hate them. The quiz didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, but it was fun to look at all the pretty rooms. I'm a home decor junkie and sucker for aesthetics. For those that want a better idea of where their tastes fall, here is the link. If you want to compare, here are my results.

Your personal style is a mix of 3 specific styles:

39% Contemporary

30% Modern Elegance

31% Vintage Modern

Contemporary

So fresh and clean! Antiques? No thanks! Vintage collections and clutter of any type? Not for you! You like your space new and sleek. Each piece is chosen carefully as though it were a piece of art, and your love of minimalism is expressed throughout each room. Furniture has clean lines and geometric shapes are preferred.

You're not afraid of color — in fact, bold color options only highlight the minimal items you choose for your home. But the key is clean. To master the minimalist interior you not only have to be selective in the few furniture items you bring into the space, you must also find a way to hide all of the real-life items as well.

Vintage Modern

Flea Market, anyone? You know you are drawn to modern furniture and interiors, and yet you don't like a space that feels cold and sterile. And who could blame you? That's why Vintage Modern is so appealing to you. Though the backdrop of the room, the walls and windows, are many times white or monochromatic, the furniture and accessories have the color, shape and texture to bring the warmth into the space.

The great thing about Vintage Modern is ease of mixing different styles in the one space. You can have a new modular sofa mixed with a great pair of chairs that your grandmother purchased in the late 1950's. The new and old work appear as though they were destined for each other. Even if you don't have time for swap meets and garage sales, so many of the mid-century pieces were so great that they have been remade and mimicked year after year.

Modern Elegance

Variety is the spice of life! And nowhere is this truer than in the design of your home. You may love contemporary, but wish it wasn't quite so cold and austere, or perhaps you're drawn to traditional rooms but you'd like to create a less cluttered and busy space. Transitional Style is here to marry those apparent contradicting designs.

And guess what? It's the contradictions that make the mix of contemporary and traditional so successful. The result is an elegant room that appeals to young and old alike. A sofa with modern lines blends seamlessly with a pair of traditional chairs. New fabrics work so well on antique pieces. It turns out that modern art looks even more exciting above a collection of traditional pieces. The room feels simple and sophisticated, elegant and hip.

If you take the quiz, please post your results in the comments section. I'd love to see where my blog friends' tastes fall.

Miscellanea and Minutia

I haven't blogged in a bit. I haven't had much of a social life and the rest of my life is uninteresting. I suppose it's mostly because I've gotten caught in the miscellanea and minutia of working from home. I have always wanted to have my own business. It just seemed more fun in theory than it is in practice. I'm getting a crash course in managing the business end of things, budgeting, and conceptualizing a website. To aid in all of this, I've been buried under books about all of those topics and using every free internet resource I can find. I've also been engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a foe called "self-doubt". I find old paycheck stubs and question my sanity. Of course, I've been designing until I drop. Don't get me wrong. I'm NOT complaining. I will take this over sitting a cubicle any day. And, don't feel sorry for me. Hard work never killed anyone. I'm paying my dues. I know this will all pay off... eventually.

Here are some small tidbits about my life.

Dottie and Rob have been up to the snow again. Dottie thinks she's a St. Bernard. She LOVES the snow... until she stops moving. Then, she's a Dottsicle.

The beauty of being married to a man who cooks is that I will never starve. The downside is that it seems damn near impossible to lose any weight.

Roasted Mediterranean-style Chicken with Hummus, Tabuleh Salad, and Pita Points


Chicken Milanese over Capellini

With all this work, I'm becoming a coffee junkie. We finally pulled out the coffee maker we received as a wedding gift. Coffee that's ready at the push of a button. Piping hot. All day long. It's dangerously addictive. Of course, I had to get coffee accessories. I went to Target for a coffee filter and ended up with Hazelnut Syrup and 2 Orla Kiely coffee mugs (and then some.)

I couldn't resist the Orla Kiely collection for Target. I went to three different Targets to peruse the collection. Some of the items jumped into my cart and came home with me. I'm a sucker for brightly colored graphic patterns.

That's all in a nutshell. I told you things were a bit dull on my end. I promise to check back in when things pick up.

Change is good and time-consuming.

I'm on a roll. I have been on a design frenzy. After updating the Paper Stylist, I decided to give this blog a new look.

Again, say goodbye to this...


and hello to this.
The formatting takes a bit to get used to, but it's a welcome change. If you'd like to add a comment (which is always welcomed), please click on the quote bubble in the upper right hand corner.


The other big change is this blog is moving to...

www.AnneKinLA.com

Please update your links and feeds accordingly. I promise. I'll have some real posts shortly.

A Low-key Valentine

Please excuse the cheesy greeting above. Rob snapped that photo of Dottie earlier today and I couldn't resist putting a goofy thought bubble in it.

It's a Recessionista's Valentine Celebration. To be practical, we made dinner at home and watched DVDs in lieu of going out. No fanfare, No gifts. Rob made a pre-Valentine dinner. (Friday Night). Here's what Rob made...

Negimaki filled with Red Bell Pepper and Baby Asparagus
served with Vegetable Gyozas and Brown Rice

I made tonight's dinner. I cannot bake to save my life, but I can actually cook. I just don't choose to cook most of the time. {If you had a husband that could cook like mine, would you cook?} Here's what I made.

Herb-Crusted Broiled Salmon served with
Wilted Spinach Salad with Oven-roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Chickpeas

Geez... We are becoming a fat, boring married couple. Hope your Valentine's Day was fun.

Another girl and her dog

As I previously mentioned, I am refreshing my photography know-how. Two of my most recent subjects are Ali and her dog Princeton. Ali and her husband Bryan adopted Princeton last June. Recently, Ali remarked that it was difficult for her get a photos of Princeton where he didn't have the dog equivalent of red-eye. I eagerly volunteered to take some photos of Princeton.

I met Ali at her parents' home in Westlake Village. After a week of rain, we were fortunate to have picked a sunny day for our shoot. Here are some of my favorites.

I would have been remiss had I not taken photos of Ali with Princeton.

For Bryan, his 3 loves - Ali, Princeton, & Baseball


Ali & Princeton share a smooch


Hide and Seek

I have to make a small confession at this point. I am a dog-lover. However, I am not a fan of small dogs. I associate small dogs with people who do not train their dogs and let them run rampant. I also think of them as frou frou creatures that are spoiled and devoid of personality. {Take a moment and gasp.} Recovered yet? Between Silas and Princeton, I may have to amend my thinking. I'll be limiting my disdain to bad owners of small dogs;)

Princeton is a wonderful dog. He is very smart, spunky, and very energetic. Ali and Bryan should seriously consider having him model professionally. He was very easy to work with and really emoted for the camera.

Here is Princeton is action

Princeton channeling his shelter experience

Thanks to Ali & Princeton for being my guinea pigs. I hope they had as much fun as I did.

Sneak Preview: Ali & Princeton

I've met up with my friend Ali and her amazing dog Princeton today. I wanted some photography practice and a reason to get out of the house. {Working from home is turning into never leaving home.} I did what I thought was going to be a quick photo shoot. After 2 hours, I came away with over 250 shots. This means, I will have A LOT of sorting to do.

Here are some sneak previews.

Ali & Princeton on the move


Portrait of Princeton

Updating...

I've been a busy bee. I've finished a few projects. Most importantly, the Paper Stylist blog has gotten a new logo and a makeover. Run on over and check it out.

Cocktails with Hostess with the Mostess

I am an avid reader of the Hostess with the Mostess blog. The site is well-known for offering innovative, creative and budget friendly party ideas. They have been hosting a series of events in major cities asponsored by Chambord. Each event showcases a different party theme and ways in which everyday people can throw similar parties. A few weeks ago, they posted that they were going to be having an Old Hollywood Glam event in L.A. I RSVP'ed immediately. Tonight, my friend Pamela and I attended it.

The soiree was held at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Here is the event as told in pictures. I brought my point-and-shoot. So, my photos did not turn out so hot. Thankfully, Pamela sent me some of her pics.

Overall view of the event - Photo by Pamela

They had cardboard cutouts of Old Hollywood Actors for some photo ops.

Marilyn and Me - Photo by Pamela


Pamela and Elvis


A close-up of the Event's Sponsor - photo by Pamela

Since the event was sponsored by Chambord, the free cocktails were plentiful and delicious.

Red Carpet Splash - photo by Pamela


French Martini - photo by Pamela


Hot White Chocolate with a splash of Chambord - photo by Pamela

They had various Hollywood Themed decor displayed around the room. The majority of the decor was made using items purchased from Michael's, Target and other easily accessible retailers.

Sample Table decor - photo by Pamela


Floral Arrangement - photo by Pamela


Floral Arrangement with photo pedestal - photo by Pamela


Manzanita Arrangement


Tablescape - photo by Pamela


Tablescape - photo by Pamela


Sneaky shot of me taking photos - photo by Pamela

What's a party without party favors? We received some freebies on the way out. Only my bag was missing the Chambord:(

Chambord mini-bottle, OPI Nail Polish, Recipe Card, and Shot Glass