Studio Sneak Peek: road trip

Hey everybody! So I have a secret.

And it's kind of a big secret.

via say yes to hoboken

We're in the car right now starting a six week long cross country road trip. Crazy right?! We know.

But it's something we've both wanted to do together for forever and given that we knew we probably wouldn't have another continuous six weeks anytime in the near future to do this, we're taking the plunge.

So! After two years of stockpiling camping equipment, booking hotels and campsites (anyone remember my super excited tweet about getting our Yosemite campsite? yea. that was nerve wrecking,) researching cities and trails, and most importantly hoping that everything would fall into place (which thank God it did) the day is finally here. The house and pup are being cared for, the car is packed (and I mean packed. I'm amazed at the amount of stuff that can fit in a normal 4 door sedan) the ipod is loaded with hours and hours of music, and we're heading west. I am so excited to see the national parks, experience the cities, and see friends along the way!

Of course I couldn't just leave you all with radio silence for six weeks, so while we're gone I have some exciting things to share.

First, my new designs are finished! (yay!!) So every Monday I will do a Studio Sneak Peek featuring a different design to let you in on how it how it came about, what I was going for, etc.  annnd... in addition to that, on Fridays some of my favorite blogger friends will be stopping by to share a weekly dose of summer with you. As for Tuesday through Thursday, I've been busy writing posts for each day we're away so you'll never be without.

Sounds almost as cool as a road trip, right? I thought so too.

See you all in six weeks!!! (okay let's be honest, I'll probably stop in every so often with photos...)

happy july 4th!

found on designcrush via what silly girls like

Happy 4th of July everyone! Sorry for the radio silence, but between baseball games, a bbq, all day bluegrass concerts in our old college town, drinks with friends, and a rooftop cookout (complete with fireworks tonight of course) our weekend has been pretty jam packed. What about you all? Any big plans? Whether you're out celebrating with friends or family or just lazily celebrating our independence with a good book and a cold lemonade, I hope you have a wonderful time. I'll see you all back here tomorrow, but until then, Happy 4th of July!!

happy father's day

My dad and me this past Christmas Eve

Just wanted to stop in and say Happy Father's Day! J. and I went to visit my parents this weekend and have some quality father's day time which was wonderful. My dad and I always have had a strong bond and while we talk a lot on the phone, nothing compares to being able to hang out and talk in the same room. Favorite memory of the weekend? Sitting in the car with my dad listening to Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson sing a duet (and finding out that my dad used to drive almost anywhere in the Southeast to hear Wailin' Willie. Doesn't surprise me, though- that was one of the first concerts we went to together!)

So, Happy Father's Day, Dad!! You are such an amazing person and I am so lucky to be your daughter. I hope you had a wonderful day!

Happy Memorial Day!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day today. See you all later this week!

happy (memorial day) weekend!

photograph via will adler

This weekend is one of my best friend's weddings and I am so excited we get to celebrate with her and her new husband! (I'm still incredibly honored she asked me to stand by her side.) Seeing two people that mean so much to us promise to love and support each other for the rest of their lives makes my heart smile. It's such a momentous, touching, and love filled occasion and I can't wait to be there. (I've already warned her I may tear up.)

Now on to the links:

I need this ring.

Have you seen these photos? So amazing.

Normally I steer clear from jello shots (I don't think you should have to chew your drink) but these have me giving them a second look.

These are CARDBOARD. (I know!)

I think a giant balloon could make any one's day.

I love NYC, but this cracked me up.

And speaking of weddings, someone propose with this. gorgeous!

Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

*I also wanted to say a big thank you for everyone who has sent their kind words to me about my grandmother. They mean the world to me and I really appreciate them (and you all.)

Happy Anniversary!

Also just wanted to send a quick little shout out to my lovely parents who are celebrating their 32nd wedding anniversary today. I love you two! Happy Anniversary!!

Studio Sneak Peek: Valentine's Day

all photos via courtney khail

I kind of take a holiday for Valentine's Day (which should explain why I'm just now posting this at 10p.) Unlike most people who simply exchange gifts, maybe go out to dinner, etc. I get really into it. Like, wake up, answer emails and then immediately start baking 4 dozen heart shaped lemon sugar cookies kind of into it. (For the record, I gave 2 dozen away and have 1 dozen wrapped up for the rest of the week. As for the other dozen... I'm going to say Cupid stole them. Better than saying that I think we may have polished off 12 cookies in 5ish hours...especially since I was trying on bathing suits about an hour ago. Nothing says lay off the cookies like a bikini.) Anyways, back to the point.

Once I baked (a completely normal amount of cookies for two people) I headed over to the farmer's market (where everyone and their mother apparently decided they wanted to learn to cook and or buy flowers today) and did our grocery shopping. I really should have planned better and not gone shopping on Valentine's Day, but what can I say- I'm a creature of habit and I like Monday morning shopping. After dodging the 50+ men in line to buy roses (and then this one guy who bought this massive multicolored rose sunset looking arrangement thing,) I finally made my way to the beef counter and picked up a few bone in short ribs for dinner tonight (and by picked up, I mean I had to beg the man to cut 4 fresh bone in short ribs since they were out.  "Valentine's Day" and/or "sick husband" may or may not have slipped out, but I'm going to go ahead and say he only cut them because he didn't want to deal with the woman who wanted EXACTLY 1/2lb of ground chuck who was behind me. Either way, I left with my beef in hand.) And despite the crowds and a few barely missed accidents in the parking lot (if someone is honking, please do not keep backing up before you look and see if they are trying to stop you from hitting them) I did get to wish a sweet older woman in an awesome red hat and my cashier (who's family is all back in her home country) a Happy Valentine's Day and that in itself was worth it.

(Like my long story? Yep. Still not done.)

Once I got home I banished J. to the office (telling him he couldn't come out until everything was finished) and then I started making this (and oh dear Lord was it amazing) and a pot de creme for two (pronounced po de krehm in case anyone is wondering...) and then started on the decorations. Now this is where I kind of get out of hand. As in, I tend to go over board in some people's opinions. Somewhere between hanging 25-30 glittery hearts (that I hand glittered) and sprinkling the table with foam hearts I realized they may be right. (And then I snapped out of it and told myself this was completely normal. Yep.... Completely normal.)

Want to see what I mean? Well then today is your lucky day.

(I was inspired by these sparkly heart from ban.do and the glitter aisle at Michaels.)

First, I made a ton of different sized hearts, covered them in Mod Podge and then drowned them in red glitter. Using some hot glue and clear thread, I then hung them (all nimbly bimbly... name that movie) from the ceiling. When I felt fancy, I made strands of 3 sparkly hearts. (I felt fancy approximately 3 times.) Because I got hooked on the glitter, I decided to use some leftover watercolor scraps I had around and drew little glittery hearts on those as well before attaching those to the ceiling as well.

Then came the table. I put down a small white runner that I normally use on our bar (because I was too lazy to iron my white table cloth but needed something white) and then sprinkled red and white foam hearts up and down that. (And then sprinkled on a hand full silver metallic circles and some red metallic "love" and "heart" confetti because I had it and figured I should use it. That was also my reasoning on wrapping the silverware in that garland. Well, that and I wanted to add more red since I was using white napkins and white plates.) Over all of that, I placed a few curled slips of paper that had things I loved about J. written on them. I finished it all off with two crate and barrel glass candle holders and a bottle of Boom! Boom! wine. (Which I am not afraid to admit that I bought simply because I thought the label and the name rocked.)

And this, my friends, is why people think I go over the top. I'll let you all be the judge.

Studio Sneak Peek: Rue Magazine

In case you missed my excited tweets, facebook updates and link last week (what can I say, I was pretty pumped), a few of my pieces were included in this issue of Rue!

Rue Issue 3

I met the lovely ladies behind the magazine (Crystal of Plush Palate, Anne of The City Sage, Bri of designlovefest, and Cassandra of coco+kelley) this past December and was beyond thrilled when Anne asked if I would create something in conjunction with the studio tour for this issue. (Seriously? I don’t think I could say “yes” fast enough.) As it turned out, I would be working with Jess (the super sweet and fun owner of Jess LC jewelry) to make her “worry cards” come to life. (check them out on page 52 or follow this link.)

Long story short, the cards are meant for you to have a place to write all of your worries down, take a good look at them and then plan your next steps to solve them. They are a great way to keep yourself from being overwhelmed and to keep track of your successes. If you’d like to read about how the idea started, check that out here.

It was so much fun creating these and getting to “meet” Jess over the phone. She has an energy about her that is very real and down to earth and it didn’t take long before we were joking and sharing stories about business ownership and ourselves. I can’t wait to see what else the future has in store for all of us (the ladies of Rue included!)

courtney khail stationery and design for Rue Magazine

My second download, a Valentine print out, is on page 264.  I’m a huge (HUGE) fan of Valentine’s Day (not the whole buying roses and chocolate and making single people feel excluded part, but the idea of taking one day to go above and beyond the everyday to show someone how much you love and care for them) so I dove head first into creating this one. I wanted to keep it simple and relationship neutral- something that could be printed out and given to your love, your best friend, or your parents, but also wanted it to pop off of the page and be unique. Always a fan of snail mail, I decided to paint an envelope that was literally bursting with love. Simple, bright and to the point.

I hope you all enjoy it! (Printing suggestion: use card stock- make sure to tell your printer you are doing so under its settings-and set your printer to its best/highest photo setting. The Valentine should fit neatly inside a size A2 envelope. Bonus points if it’s a red envelope!)

happy (birthday) weekend!

Tomorrow is my birthday (yay!) and I was a little distracted with early celebrations and completely forgot to upload yesterday's post. Sorry! I hope you all will forgive me and accept this belated one. With Valentine's right around the corner, why not mix some love into your everyday with this?

Glitter and stars. Perfect combo.

Atlanta is (finally) thawing out, but for the past few days I've felt like this was going to be my new career. (beautiful photos, right?)

Speaking of snow... I think I need one of these. Custom igloo here I come!

And finally, still unsure about what to get me for my birthday? Here you go. (You're welcome.)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Happy (New Years Eve) Weekend

via here

Today (after dropping off some orders at FedEx) I'm closing up shop and heading out to kick the year off with the Mr. and a few close friends. But before I do that, I thought I would leave you with a little something I've found to be a nice change from the normal resolution frenzy that hits right around now.

A few days ago Erin posted her "non-goals" list (and was soon followed by Anne and Bri and probably many others.) Seeing as that's pretty great company, I figured I'd do the same. The whole idea is to pat yourself on the back for the good things you've done this year (hence the 3rd person), as opposed to beating yourself down over what you have to do better. So here it goes:

1. Way to go on being your own boss. It's been hard at times, but at the end of the day you've done a good job of finding a nice balance of work and play. And remember to never stop asking for what you want. No one can give you something if they don't know you want it. 2. Congrats on two happy years of marriage. Keep listening to each other, laughing with each other and loving each other. Never forget J is your best friend and is always there for you. 3. Keep up those long phone conversations with your parents. They have a lot to teach you if you keep your ears open and will always love you. Plus you are always smiling when you hang up and smiles look good on you. 4. Don't worry about saying you are "checking your email" when you are actually g-chatting with your sister. She's your sister. You have a lot to discuss. 5. Good job at taking time for yourself to do some baking and cooking. Sure not everything comes out perfectly, but there is nothing more satisfying than a dozen freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. 6. You can have a conversation with just about anyone. Keep talking; you'll never know who you'll meet. 7. Keep up with the sincere thank yous. If someone helps you (whether they know it or not) keep letting them know. Even if it's just a quick email 8. Good work getting dressed (almost) every day. Just because you work from home doesn't mean you need to look like a slob. 9. Keep up the moisturizing. Promise it will pay off in the future. 10. Never stop traveling and playing. You and J have done a good job so far at this, but remember to never use money or time as an excuse. Save up and make time. Memories are always more important than something like shoes. (Even those really pretty ones you just saw at Saks.) 11. And lastly, nice touch with putting love notes in J's lunch. Keep up the little things. You know it means a lot to him because you found the drawer where he keeps each one.

So there they are. My "non-resolutions."

With that said, Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all have a great (and safe) night and a lovely rest of the weekend. And come 1.1.11, don't beat yourself up with resolutions. Just keep striving to be best person you can be and be satisfied with that person.

studio sneak peek

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas weekend! My parents came up and we had our 2nd annual Atlanta based Christmas celebration complete with an incredibly tasty (if I do say so myself) family brunch at our home, present opening by the fire (you know where the bad gifts go! Just kidding. Seriously, how sad would that be? Not to mention we all got amazingly thoughtful and wonderful gifts) and then a huge dinner at my aunt and uncles house that night. It was so great getting to see everyone (we even got to see J's parents and brother for a little while) and just hang out together. (And thanks to the storms across the country, it snowed this year! Which made for my first true white Christmas. There's just something so magical about snow. It makes everything seem so still and clean (and makes me  just want to curl up by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate... which is precisely what we did.) Side note: Have I mentioned Christmas is my favorite holiday? Because it is. Everything and everyone just seems happier and joyful and full of cheer. (Heck, even the strangers ducking behind columns to hide from the change collecting Salvation Army Santa are smiling.) Wonderful time of year all around.

So back to the point. Now that all of the gifts have been opened, I can share this and not worry that someone is going to accidentally ruin the surprise.

Each year I make my dad a calendar, and this year I wanted to do something a little different. (And I mean a little. I am a watercolor artist; there is going to be some repetition haha) So in addition to the watercolor backgrounds, I also marked specific days of importance on the calendar (my parent's anniversary, our birthdays, valentine's day etc.) and attached magnets on the back for easy frig hanging. (And of course, after making them I kind of wanted some for myself too.) Here's how they turned out:

(excuse the lighting. I posted two photos together...)