I had a lot of projects to wrap up before leaving for LA today but I still got out and about — weekend walks through different neighborhoods with Joey & Rocky are something I look forward to all week. We slow down, get coffee at a new place and chit-chat while Rocky terrorizes squirrels.

On Monday, my friend Christine came to town to visit — we relaxed at the Division Stumptown and caught up on life. I met Christine during my two-year design program; she sat next to me and we bonded quickly. Since then, she’s become a partner in a bustling design studio and I am so proud of her continued success. One of the reasons I believe school is so important (even if you already possess natural talent) is because of the lifelong friendships and connections you’ll make.

I’m constantly pinning up new inspiration to my ‘real life’ pinboard and switching up my surroundings. I spent an hour decluttering my office last night and it’s true, my head feels less cluttered now as well.

I just paid a visit to Palio, a cute coffee shop and loved the vibe — I can get behind any place that has ‘eatmorecake’ as their wifi password!

Sometimes you find that piece of clothing that you fall in love with immediately for some unknown reason. I was at Buffalo Exchange over the weekend and spotted this handmade 50s era pea green skirt for nine buckaroos and something just hit me. It reminded me of some old Prada collections and some of the vintage items I wore in high school and I’ve already worn it three times — it’s not my regular style and that’s exactly what I love about it. I should mention, this was taken in my VERY retro bathroom (complete with bizarre bavarian-esque linoleum paneling on the walls. Old houses are….quirky.)

This is one of my favorite type treatments from a project I just wrapped. It was one of the most challenging projects I’ve ever done just based on scale but those challenges are what push us to grow as designers…and at the end, that feels really good.

Can you see little Rocky looking over his shoulder? So sweet. I’m off today for a mini vacation with Gala for the next few days. I hope you have an awesome and inspiring weekend!