Other Musings

fall ramblings

via say yes to hoboken

today I was trying to figure out what to wear when I realized that it was "that time of the year." While other (possibly more normal) people may mark the start of fall with the changing leaves, football season, and/or Macy's playing Christmas carols (too soon people. let's let thanksgiving have it's moment.) I call it fall the moment I have to switch my closets over.

The older I have gotten though, the more I have come to realize this biannual task isn't a normal event for every household. I was absolutely bewildered the first time I went into a friend's closet and saw tank tops AND sweaters at the same time. Were those ski pants next to her shorts?? To my slightly OCD self (remember my color coordinated closet?) that just wasn't right. I mean, you don't walk into a store and see two seasons at once do you? I didn't think so.

Of course I have to admit that the fact I switch over my closet is less about how much I would love to have it resemble a banana republic store and much more about the simple fact that I own a lot of clothes. Some (ahem, my husband) may argue too many clothes. (I have yet to recognize that as a problem thankyouverymuch.)

So to me fall really begins the moment I can no longer get by simply wearing a tank top with a jacket over it. (Well and jeans or something of course. I'm not running around bottomless or anything.)

And ladies and gents, it is that time. After 3 days of meticulously pulling out just one sweater at a time from our cedar chest, I have to suck it up and take the time to remove all of my tank tops/T-shirts/strappy little flow-y numbers and replace them with my plaid shirts, cable knit sweaters, and structured jackets. Oh and boots. I love boot season. Just thinking about plaid shirts and boots makes me ready to bake an apple pie and kick around someone's freshly raked pile of leaves*

*Just to go ahead and get this out of the way for when this does happen (which inevitably it will,) my apologies to whomever actually raked those leaves... I just can't help myself.

Oh and speaking of clothes, the lovely Erin of Design for Mankind is taking part in this competition. Not sure I could only wear 30 items in a month, but I can't help but be intrigued.

manifesto

Found this over on The Bedlam of Beefy and thought today was a perfect day to share it. Not only is it Monday (oh Mondays) but it's also the first of the month which is a perfect day to start anew. Feeling uninspired? Blue? (as in sad. if you are actually blue as in the color get yourself to a doctor. Or if you're kind of digging it, maybe just to Vegas to join the Blue Man Group.)

Anyhow... back to the main point. Read this and take it to heart. And if you're like me and feel like you should read this more than once, well then head over here and print out your own 100% free copy. (everyone likes free things!)

Oh! And did I mention this is the company's manifesto?! I can only guess working for them would be awesome.

photo catch up

Hi everyone! It’s been a little while since I’ve posted so I thought before the weekend starts, I’d share a few photos from the past few days.

copyright courtney khail stationery and design

sneak peek of a custom order I’m working on right now. I love how these are coming together and I can’t wait for my clients to see them all together.

this is from the Braves last game of the post season and Bobby’s last game before retirement. Even though we lost, the atmosphere was pretty amazing and it was really touching to be a part of history.

my friend L and I have decided to take up sewing. Though our sewing dates are more to catch up and gossip together, we are slowly but surely learning. Case in point? We learned how to use the automatic bobber thing today (yes very technical, I know.) Up until now I’ve just been winding it by hand- mostly because I really don’t like reading directions. Luckily, even though she doesn’t like them either, L. actually did read the directions and figured out how to do it.

via how about orange

have you read Joy and Meg’s book, Creative Inc. yet? If you’re in the freelance/creative world, it’s a must read! It has great advice, is easy (and quick) to read, and is full of useful real world advice. I loved reading all of the interviews and hearing other people’s stories and perspectives. Great work, ladies! I hope the book tour went well!

The weather is also finally starting to cool down, so I’ve started bringing out some of my favorite fall recipes like chocolate chip banana bread, apple bread, and this tasty little creation. Seriously, chili on a biscuit? Yes, please.

I also dying to try this pumpkin spice cake I saw in one of my magazines and maybe even make caramel apples. Which reminds me, I kind of want to go apple picking.

Have I mentioned how much I love fall?

being stubborn (and how it just makes me more sick.)

Happy Friday everyone! I wanted to share all of these beautiful things I keep seeing around the blog world, but unfortunately the days crept up (and crept by) and I haven’t been able to. Always next week though! (Huge apology to everyone who has called, emailed and written. I promise I love you all and will get back to you all soon!) To hold you all over, I thought I’d describe how these past few days have gone in our household because (at least to me) it’s pretty entertaining.

About 16 days ago I woke up with a stuffy/runny nose. Despite multiple anatomy classes and a pharmacist to be husband, no one can really tell me how my nose can be congested and running like a faucet at the exact same time. Yea yea, I know how mucus is produced, I understand the whole inflammation thing etc, but it still baffles me.

Being stubborn (i.e. me.) I said to myself, “Self, this is just a cold. School is back in session, germs are running rampant, and this will soon be over soon. Plus, it’s a virus and antibiotics don’t so ANYTHING for a virus.” I poured a huge glass of juice, took an ibuprofen and went about my day.

Fast forward to roughly 5 days later. I feel a little better. I go to lunch and shopping with a friend, drink a lot of fluids, keep up with gargling, take my OTC meds and I’m feeling kind of great. If great means that I can  barely walk for longer than an hour before feeling wiped out and constantly have to have a tissue in my hand.

Pretty sure my mom called around this day and I told her not to worry. Something about how I will beat it. She tells me it’s mind over matter, but to take it easy just in case because my Aunt has been battling something for over a week that sounds pretty similar.

We go to an 80’s party despite my “condition” mostly because we have awesome costumes and have been looking forward to it for awhile, but come home “early”- if you call early almost 1am on a Thursday early- because I start to feel really nauseous and dizzy.

Wake up Friday and have my body says “Hey, I made you come home early from a party, you’re dizzy, have a fever, and still can’t really control your runny/stuffy nose without tons of medicine. You should stay in bed.” I tell my body to shut up, I’m fine, and try and get some work done. We go out with friends that night, wake up early the next day to watch UGA (sadly lose again) and by 3pm I am “napping.”

Around 5ish, J. leaves for a concert with his brother (it was his birthday present) and I am pretty unaware of the massive war being fought inside my body as I settle down into the couch with 3 magazines and the remote. Sure I still have a headache and little congestion, but hell yes I’m beating this cold! That nap really worked! I’m feeling so much better! (side note to my readers. I have NEVER beaten a cold. You’d think I’d learn, but no.) Somewhere in between learning to retile a backsplash (thank you HGTV) and a romantic comedy, my body tells me I need to sleep. Like RIGHT then. I pass out into a very unattractive nap only to wake up with the most painful sore throat EVER.

Still refuse to admit I’m really that sick and try to reason with myself that it’s just because I slept with my mouth open (horrible habit, but can’t really control it. I have never really been one of those girls who looks “beautiful” while they sleep… sadly this has led to some very unattractive road trip photos of me.) I pour another glass of juice and take a sip to try and soothe my dry throat when I am hit with the most horrible pain. My throat is fighting back with me and has turned my nice cool V8 splash into a liquid form of barbed wire. Okay, maybe I am really sick.

That night ends with me sitting in front of the refrigerator (with the door open of course) trying to figure out what I can eat that I a) do not have to cook and b) won’t hurt my throat. I settle for a chocolate pudding cup and a strawberry yogurt. (Isn’t there something about strawberries being a cleansing fruit? Does it count when they are made of high fructose corn syrup?) Oh and for dessert-a Sudafed, 2 ibuprofen, a lozenge (or eight) and some more V8 splash. I slap on some Vic’s Vapo Rub, gargle some salt water and go to bed.

(side note mental picture. Sometime within the next 4 days we run out of food- since I haven't been shopping in 2 weeks- and I have to go to the farmers market. I'm standing in front on the tea aisle because I was advised to drink tea to soothe my throat and I am overwhelmed. I don't drink tea and I am super confused by the amount of choices. I can't stop sneezing, I actually can see the mothers directing their children out of my path, and I'm at a toss up between respiratory health tea and cold remedy tea since I can't find green tea and it's really the only one I like. But I like it cold and that defeats the reason for me buying the tea in the first place. Anyhow. I decided on cold remedy and make a cup as soon as I get home. 1/2 through something that while not gross, still reminds me of drinking weeds- this is how all tea tastes to me- J. wonders out loud what ingredient makes it bad for pregnant women and infants and begins looking up the "natural ingredients." Being a worrier I immediately start to freak out thinking I'm drinking something that is going to kill me (despite not being pregnant or an infant) which ruins all the soothing effects I originally bought the tea for. The box- missing only 1 bag- is still sitting on the counter because I'm too afraid to drink anymore.*)

This brings me to about 4 days ago. My virus is gone, but it’s most likely killed by the massive amount of bacteria that have set up camp in my body. Even worse, my husband, Mr. “I have an awesome immune system and rarely catch colds” has officially caught whatever is breeding inside of me and is miserable. Of course he is way less stubborn and went to the doctor, was diagnosed with a sinus infection and given antibiotics. As he takes his first pill, he tells me to suck it up and go get medicine.** My body has lost the battle.

So after a (very pleasant) trip to CVS’s minute clinic (highly recommend them- esp. since they accept our insurance and basically all insurance plans) I finally admit that I have a sinus infection and need antibiotics. Well, “admit” is a loose term. The NP basically said there was no way I can fight this on my own so I better take antibiotics if I want to feel better.

I am now on day 4 of a 5 day antibiotic plan. I’m also taking tons of cold medicines that make me forget exactly where the walls are and what day of the week it is (I’m the 1% who experiences pretty much all of the non life threatening side affects.) Hence I haven’t really been writing much, or really doing much of anything besides working from bed or the couch. The fog seems to be clearing though so yay!! I can’t wait to be back to 100%.

See you all on Monday!! Hope you have a great weekend!

* it has licorice or something, which apparently is a stimulant- which pregnant women and babies can't have. still. haven't had a cup since.

**I will say that J. has pretty amazing despite the fact I gave him a horrible virus bug thing. We were sitting on the couch watching one of the hundreds of movies we’ve seen over the past few days when, after a sneezing fit (seriously, like 7 seizure like sneezes in a row) followed by a pretty unattractive nose blowing/overly dramatic gasping for air performance by yours truly he simply got up, brought me more juice and said, “Sweetie. You are absolutely gorgeous.” I pretty much melted. And then sneezed. Again.

ampersands

Ampersands are one of my favorite symbols. (let's overlook the fact that it might be weird that I have a favorite "symbol," but come on- the # has nothing on the &.)

Anyhow, apparently I am  not alone. While surfing the internet a few days ago I found smb studio (via designworklife) and very quickly fell in love with this project. Isn't it crazy how different each one is? I'm fascinated with it.

all images via smb

And don't get me started on the bags. If it were up to me, I'd have 10 just for groceries (but then I'd probably feel wasteful since I already have 10+ reusable bags for groceries... oh well.)

Hope everyone is having a lovely Monday! See you tomorrow

a color television set

"being married is like having a color television set. You never want to go back to black and white."

http://vimeo.com/12562270

I cried through almost all of this so if you're not alone, you might want to wait until you are before you watch this one. It's just so beautiful. Heartbreakingly beautiful. (And says pretty much everything I feel towards my husband.) I wish that love for everyone. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend you all.

congratulations!

Of course there is no way I could leave you all for the weekend without sharing some good news. My sister is now writing for Creative Loafing and her first piece came out yesterday!! If you're in Atlanta, pick one up and turn to page 50 (I believe. I have to pick up my copy this weekend.) and if you aren't from Atlanta but would like to see how talented my sister is, check it out here.

Congrats, J! I'm so proud of you!

Freshly sharpened pencils

I think it's the perfectionist in me, but I love pencils to be freshly sharpened. (It could also be due to the fact that my dad also gave me the task of sharpening pencils at his office when I was bored and I loved the look of them all clean and arranged neatly. Or that whenever I hear a pencil sharpener it reminds me of working really hard on something. Well most of the time.

This specific sharpener (found via the Container Store and I am a greedy girl) reminds me a lot of procrastination. Most likely because it it makes me remember elementary school and how every time we didn't want to work on something we'd magically need to sharpen every. single. pencil we owned.

Ahh memories.

Anyhow, I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! We're excited to see my parents (!) and celebrate two friends engagement over dinner- after that, who knows what the weekend holds! Any big plans of your own?

I'm back!

Yep, it’s been about 20ish days since my last post, but I am officially back. I took a “vacation” from blogging in order to get inspired, spend some quality time with my husband (who was on summer vacation from his doctorate program) my friends and my family, and finally to tackle some on going work projects that I really needed to focus on. But now, with school back in session and fall fashions gracing the runways it was time for me to get back to updating the blog regularly with work projects and all the things that inspire me- and hopefully you as well! Before we jump into all of that though, I thought I’d give you a quick photo recap of the summer. Hope you enjoy!

I would have photos of us kayaking (which happened at least once a week this summer), but I never really trust myself when it comes to bringing my camera on board! See you all tomorrow!

wednesday wisdom-no props necessary

* a little bit of a different take on wednesday wisdom... more like wednesday opinions!

so many engagement photos are filled with props these days- vintage cameras, bow ties (yes. this is a prop if your guy never wears them) furniture dragged out into a field to look like an anthro catalog- tons and tons of "things" that are supposed to make your photos more unique and stylish. But you know what I think is stylish? Being yourself. Showing the love you to share. Wearing your favorite outfits and just enjoying the day together as someone happens to take photos. That's why I found this photo to be so refreshing. (I think I found it on snippet&ink, if anyone knows the photographer please please let me know so I can credit them.)

It's just them having fun together. No vintage cameras or board games, no velvet couch under a maple tree- nothing staged or stuffy, and I think they are just beautiful photos. Photos you can look back on without thinking "oh goodness. why did we do that?" Photos you can put up in your home. Photos to be cherished.* (And yes, a beautiful location like theirs doesn't hurt.)

*this is not to say unique trendy photos are cool or can't be cherished. I just love it when the emphasis is on the love, not on creating a photo shoot.

** and please. If you're not a photographer, don't have cameras in your photos. Hate scrabble? Then don't "play it" during a "vintage" picnic in the park. Be yourselves. I promise you two are awesome just the way you are.

*** and of course this is just my opinion. If you want banners and bunting and furniture (oh my!) then by all means, have at it!