Design Project Recap

I'm going to try to blog in order. So bear with me.

This is Aileen & Jo.

Their wedding was this past Saturday. Many moons ag0, Aileen and I carpooled to our first knot GTG together. We even had the same wedding coordinator. After the disaster I had with said coordinator, she hired someone far more capable.

A few weeks ago, Aileen contacted me to create menus and programs. Like Ali and Bryan, Aileen and Jo had existing wedding stationery that I had to match. Here is what their existing stationery looked like.

Here is what I created to match. Each program was designed and hand assembled. It got a bit hectic and I enlisted Rob to help with the assembly process. Who knew my hubby was so handy with a hole puncher?

Programs

Front
*photo has been altered for client privacy

Page 1
*photo has been altered for client privacy

Page 2

Page 3
*photo has been altered for client privacy

I believe Aileen and Jo were pleased with the finish products. I can't wait to see their pro pics.

Entries to come

Last week was one of the most hectic weeks of my life. I was buried in design work, packed my house up for fumigation, had a Bachelorette Party in Vegas, and a wedding yesterday. I am pooped.

Now, I have to unpack my house and see if my laptop has bit the big one:( Once I'm done with all of that I'm Daniella's, Jenny's and Frances' design slave. Who knew that one week could be so exhausting?

Another gift not on the registry

These are my friends Ali & Bryan. They are Ali and Bryan of Ragtime fame.
Ali is part of the monthly diner's club (Non-knot GTG). Her wedding is the weekend. Coincidentally, the same day as Wendy's. As a wedding gift, I offered to create her escort cards and table numbers. It was a bit of a challenge because they had a monogram that a friend of theirs had designed.

My instructions were to create something modern and traditional AND match their existing monogram. This is what I came up with.

Escort Cards

Table Number & Escort Cards

The photos do not give really give a true impression of the cards. Because this project was a gift, I used some really great papers. Names were printed on Quartz Stardream and adhered to Blush Luxe Cardstock. I had a lot of fun creating these. Ali's wedding colors are very similar to my own.

From the reaction I got when I delivered these, they both really liked the finished product. They're so sweet. They generously gave me a giftcard to CPK. It was not necessary. Although, it is much appreciated. I thank them as does Rob - my perpetually hungry hubby.

More design goodness to come. Stay tuned!

Tenting?!

In a few days, our little rental shoebox will look like this.My landlord has decided that we all need termite fumigation. They live in the front house and have found termites. While I appreciate what they're trying to do, I can't help but be annoyed. It's Sunday and we need to be out of our house by Tuesday night through Friday. I'm in the middle of a gazillion design projects and will be leaving for Vegas on Wednesday. Now, in the middle of working, we have to pack up things that won't survive the tenting. Grrr.... why don't some people have a sense of timing?! Sorry, I needed to get this off of my chest. Pretty pictures of happy design projects will be posted shortly.

100 and 1 degree!

I got up bright and early for my cousin Jasmine's graduation. I was told the ceremony started at 8AM. In order to get to the university at a relatively decent time, I had to get up at 6AM. This is a huge feat because I have really become accustomed to my lady of leisure status. These days 9 o'clock is early. Because I am supportive Cousin Anne, I got ready and hauled myself out to Fullerton.

I found out once I got there that I probably could have gotten a few more Zzzz. Jasmine wasn't scheduled to walk across a stage until 10AM. Oh well. I took the time to catch up with my other cousins Janine & Jovan. It was miserably hot. At peak, it was about 100 degrees with minimal shade.

Some people brought umbrellas for shade. I wish I had.

While others got REALLY creative and made their own hats

After baking in the sun for a few hours, Jasmine finally walked across the stage and was acknowledged for her undergraduate degree in psychology.


Jasmine graduated cum laude with a Bachelor's of Art degree in Psychology.

Jasmine with her proud parents - my Uncle Bo & Aunt Jean

Fred (Jasmine's friend) & Jasmine

Group Photo with the very hot & tired grad.
(L-R) Aunt Jean, Me, Jasmine, Janine, Jovan, Bella, and Fred

After it was all said and done, this is what I had to show for it.
SUNBURN! I had to take a picture of this because I only burn once every 15 years. I am usually fanatical about sunblock. For those who have outdoor graduations to attend, don forget the sunblock!

A few of my favorite things

I meet two of my clients for lunch on Friday in Agoura Hills. It was a bit of a trek. On my way home, I stopped by my all-time favorite cupcake bakery.

Leda's Bakeshop

818 386 9644
13722 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

This is what I came home with. I love their Coconut Lime flavor. Thankfully, I had planned to share. So, I only ate two of these little gems.

Rehearsal Ready

I have been very busy with my new iMac and the numerous design projects I have taken on. Here is a peek at one of the projects I have been working on - Wendy's Rehearsal Dinner Invites.

Invite wrapped in custom printed vellum

Invite Unveiled

Rehearsal Reminder Insert

Let me upgrade you...

I came home from Houston to find this...

My new iMac! Rob & I agreed that we would get a new computer with our tax return. My poor 4-year old G4 Powerbook has seen better days. As an added bonus (and partially to get himself out of the doghouse), Rob created a new desk for me and organized my filing cabinets and printers underneath. I'd post pics of the new desk, but I'm still in the process of setting it up to my liking. Every now and again, Rob surprises me.

By the way, Rob did get something out of this deal. That's his new ipod shuffle on the shelf to the right of the computer.

Getting a Shrimp Fix

As evidenced by my post about eating in Virginia, I enjoy shrimp. Cicely and Gary treated me to lunch at Pappadeaux in Kemah. Pappadeaux specializes in Louisiana/ Cajun style cuisine.

In honor of my love of shrimp, we started with Coconut Shrimp appetizer


For my main course, I had Shrimp Étouffée.
Étouffée is a Creole dish typically served with shellfish or chicken over rice, similar to gumbo, very popular in New Orleans and in the bayou country of the southernmost half of Louisiana. (definition courtesy of wikipedia)
The food was so good that I posed with the pelican statue out front.

Texas Tomfoolery

Texas Tomfoolery

Starring

Guest Starring

Cicely has been my closest friend and confidante since we were both starving waitresses working our way through college. For a time, we were roommates. Although we haven't lived in the same timezone in over 6 years, we still talk everyday. When we get together, it's a nonstop gabfest and tomfoolery with photographic evidence. This weekend was no exception. Even though we are married women in our 30s, we still behave like giggly teenagers. I guess you could say we keep each other young... and sane. Here is some photographic evidence of our ridiculousness.

We bought matching converse

Cicely taking a photo of me

Me taking a photo of Cicely


Supposedly, she would have bought this hat if it hadn't been $200


Cicely showing her disdain for the quality of Forever 21 accessories


Me & my new friend - Pelican in front of Pappadeux's restaurant in Kemah

Hooray! It's Kanye Day!

According one of my cohorts, Sheri, today is Kanye Day. We (Cicely, Sheri, Sheri's boyfriend Larry, and I) went to the Kanye West concert at the Woodlands Pavilion. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I am a fan of Kanye West, but I most certainly don't drink the Kool-aid. I did, however, drink a large frozen pomegranate margarita. Prior to the concert, we stopped at TGI Friday's to eat and grab a drink. We all felt we needed sustenance and libations to fully prepare us for the show. The food was nothing to write home about, but the drinks were fabulous. I forgot that there's one thing you can count on at Friday's and that's drinks.

Cicely and I modeling the menus for the fine dining establishment.

Sheri & Larry - Young Love

I love pomegranate margaritas!

We arrived at the concert at the very beginning of Rihanna's set. I'm just a teeny bit disappointed because I missed the other two opening acts - Lupe Fiasco and N.E.R.D. I am partial to N.E.R.D. because they are from my hometown. No matter because the rest of the show can be best described as a spectacle.

We had tickets for the lawn which was open seating. According to Cicely and Sheri, I thugged our way to the front of the lawn section. I beg to differ as I merely snaked my way through the crowd until I found an opening for us to sit and/or stand. "Thugged" makes it sound as thought I pushed and shoved, which is near impossible with my height and build. The place was packed with a very diverse crowd. I was surprised to see that some people had even brought their kids.

Our view of the stage

The crowd

Sheri and me

Me and Cicely

After a very long intermission for stage setup, the lights dimmed and Kanye West started his performance. The whole show had a theme that Kanye West was on a spaceship that crash landed in unknown territories. It redefined the phrase "solo artist". There wasn't anyone on the stage except Mr. West. No band, DJ, back-up dancers. No one else. He had all of musicians tucked into the orchestra pit. Either Kanye West was either really ballsy or really in love with himself. It was the latter. His ego was bigger than I had envisioned. The show was complete with a tantrum over non-functioning big screens and multiple affirmations of Kanye West being the biggest star in the universe.

Kanye West in action

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the show it was definitely worth the price of admission. As it turns out, that was not the only entertainment. Larry provided additional entertainment. Once the show started he was singing along and dancing.... all 6 feet 2 inches of him. It was like watching a teeny-bopper at a concert. Had we not been there, I am almost certain Larry would have started crying. For additional laughs, we were surrounded by the rhythmically challenged. To our left and our right were kids that had no clue how to dance or how to stay in rhythm. It was so hilariously distracting that I missed part of the show because I was laughing so hard. I had a GREAT TIME.

Post Concert

A break from the norm

I am taking a break from my regularly scheduled activites to visit my best friend Cicely in Houston. Why you ask? First reason, Cicely is my BFF. She is an awesome BFF because she got tickets for us to see Kanye West! I flew in to Houston this morning specifically for this show. The show is in Bush Territory at the Woodlands in North Houston. So, I am very curious to see if he's really going to let loose and say something really glib. I am a huge fan of Kanye, but according to Cicely I am not a true believer. This is based on the fact that I didn't not practice any of the dances from any of his videos. It makes no difference that I own every album and single of his. In my defense, I know what my strengths and weaknesses are. Dancing is certainly NOT one of my strengths. I have choosen not to play myself. No matter. I'm sure I'll have a good time... even if I don't drink the Kool-aid.