Over the weekend, it was blazing hot so we took a spin around Portland to a few of our favorite places. The Woodsman Market and neighboring Stumptown were packed, naturally — so nice to get out and about and not be chained to my computer.

This is a pretty good place to sit back and relax, don’t you think? I love it when it’s this nice out — everyone is in such a good mood and you can feel a sense of optimism that just isn’t there during the endless months of doom and gloom.

We finally found Rocky the perfectly bite-sized car for when he gets his license!!! I assumed it was some obscure European model but it’s actually an old Honda.

Even if the rest of your house is a mess and your desk is piled with odds and ends (like mine is right now), set aside that once special corner. I taped up this page from an old issue of Interview — still adore that type treatment!

These are some outtakes with Rocky at Laurelhurst Park over the weekend…”Come on, give mom a hug! COME ON! You ain’t getting away from me!”

Joey and I are always pretty matchy-matchy which is a given since our wardrobes contain the same exact color schemes. Couples cliché!

I took so many stamp photos over the weekend — as you saw on Monday, I’ve gone a bit stamp crazy! This is a good overview of my brand new collection of 5 total stamps. So happy with these!

I have quite a gem from my childhood stamp collection that I haven’t shared until now; this heart-shaped stamp. I’m not even sure where it came from but I’ve had it since about 1985? Hearts everywhere!

One last thing; you guys have blown me away with the comments about your summer plans! Frankly, my last summer was a total bust (Joey broke his leg exactly a year ago) and I’ve been determined to make the most of this one with more little trips outside the city, more fun projects and simple things too like walks in the park with Rocky and more meals out with Joey (he does the cooking at our house and while he’s great at it, he deserves a break!) Over the next few weeks, I have two completely different trips planned. One is on a ranch (!!!) and the other is in a big city; I’ll share more soon. A lot can happen when we decide to take the initiative to make some changes, both small and large. So thanks for inspiring me this week.

Over the weekend, my dear friend Star stopped by Wolfgang Manor for a visit. Since she lives in San Francisco, we only get to see each other about once a year but it’s one of those friendships where we pick right back up where we left off. I met Star online close to 10 yeas ago and later, during a visit to LA in 2007, she was the one that convinced me to start this blog! We have a tradition of tracking down a photo booth whenever and wherever we meet.

The new issue of O magazine showed up in my mailbox yesterday and I thought this A was pretty rad. Here’s the truth: I’ve never even read a complete issue but the design is so good that I mostly subscribe for pure visual inspiration.

I took a midweek break with some friends at Jam on Hawthorne for an afternoon breakfast and tasty mix drink. Turquoise walls, loud music and a handful of chandeliers — what’s not to love about this place?

This week, I pulled out one of my favorite combos that I wore constantly a few years ago: Tripp NYC zipper jeans paired with Minimarket boots.

Over the weekend, I ended up at Best Buy and noticed this black wall complete with a glowing Apple. So, there you have it: my version of the super moon!

I have been going rubber stamp crazy and through some trial and error, I finally found a great, affordable source and ordered a slew of different designs and sizes. I’m sharing what I’ve learned on Monday here on the blog!

Do you ever get hit with the “I can’t keep my eyes open and I’m going to fall asleep at my desk RIGHT NOW” feeling every afternoon? It seems like between 2 and 3, I get hit all at once…and sometimes, a good cup of coffee gets me back on track. Sometimes not.

This book cover is an ongoing inspiration of mine. I’ve been really trying to back up, stand still, ignore the internet and simplify the designs I’m doing to stand the test of time. This cover reminds me of that. Sometimes the best inspiration isn’t on the internet; it’s right in front of us. We just have to be aware. Have a great weekend! I’m going to be taking some long walks (if the weather dude isn’t lying, it’s supposed to be 85 here in Portland) and playing with my new rubber stamp collection. Sounds dorky but some of the best things in life are!

What a week. Major deadlines, really late nights, friends and family in town, too many lattes. Glad to have made it through! I sat down last night and started reading a new book that I’m really excited about. As soon as I finish I’ll post a review. Feeling really, really inspired. I need to remind myself to never underestimate the power of words on paper (and to read more often).

My current desktop looks like this (in the dark). I LOVE this cover of USED Magazine so much!

Even though it seemed like I spent the last few days of my life shackled to a computer, I did manage to squeeze in some fun times earlier in the week. My mom was in town visiting and during some downtime, we visited Target. I feel like I’m so busy working that I never shop in stores anymore? It was really nice to wander the aisles for a change! Anyway, it was like a color explosion. Rainbows of awesomeness everywhere. I was recruited to work on a Target campaign earlier this year….wish it would have worked out because I love what they do. And, how good is that top packaging?!

Since my mom was in town, we drove Rocky out to the suburbs to visit his ‘grandma.’ He loves riding in a car and hangs his head out the window to feel the breeze in his hairdo! The next morning, my mom and aunt took me out to breakfast and when they ordered coffee, the cream came in baby bottles! The stars aligned that day because when I got home, my dad stopped by to help me with some house projects. Then, my grandpa called to let me know he was at a bar down the street. I live in the city and he’s an hour and a half away in the mountains so I was really surprised to find him 10 blocks from my house, gambling and having a beer! Everyone calls him Sharky — he’s in his 80s and still out-parties me! A few days later, I was standing in line at a coffee shop and noticed these doll arms peeking out of the planter. Totes creepy and awesome!

When Joey and I were shooting outfit photos in Ladd’s Addition over the weekend, I noticed this house. Pretty amazing, huh? I think that people imagine that most of Portland looks like Ladd’s….I love the tree-lined streets and beautiful old houses. Reminds me of a fairytale.

Soooo….I have a thing for this llama, Nigel. We’ve met on many occasions and visit at least once a year. Everyone seems to know about our friendship. Last year, I walked into a bar and the first thing my friend’s boyfriend said was, “So, I hear you have a relationship with a llama.” Haha! When I heard he was going to be in town this week, I raced downtown to R.E.I. and circled the building. No Nigel. I paced around the store in all black and Adidas wedges, looking slightly out of place amidst the camping gear. I finally found Nigel’s owners, Wallowa Llamas giving their slide show about backpacking in Eastern Oregon (the llamas carry the gear) and they told me that Nigel’s trailer had broken down. No Nigel this time! You should have seen my friend and I whip out our planners, trying to find an open weekend to go visit him. Wallowa was beyond entertained and even offered to bring him down to the hotel in town to hang with us. We’d probably try to squeeze Nigel into a sweater and do his hair so not a good idea! Ahhh, Nigel. He loves the attention! Another reason to visit Nigel on his native territory: he fathered his first baby last year named Rhubabrb! I asked around and nobody seems to know who the mom is.

One of my go-to daily lipsticks is NARS Love Devotion. It adds a touch of warmth to my deathly pallor. Oh, and yesterday two dozen Voodoo Donuts magically appeared. I normally skip them because years ago I worked at an agency that was doing a campaign with Mountain Dew and Voodoo delivered Dew-infused donuts with neon green frosting. People were taking bites, turning around and spitting them back out. I’m not into funky flavors so I played it as safe as I could with a tiny sprinkle donut. Finally, my friend Star is in town! She has a solo show at Sequential Art Gallery that you must see. It’s got some amazing installation pieces and much of the work is composed of wood and acrylic.

You know how there’s always lost pet posters tacked up everywhere? I always wonder if they made it home and this poster totally made my morning. Tabor the cat not only made it home but walked in smelling like grandma’s roses! And just look at that seductive pose! Gotta love a happy ending. Have a great weekend!

Welcome to The Week In Pictures, a Friday roundup of snapshots I’ve taken during the week of my life, work and the city I call home.

Over the weekend, the weather was finally nice and I felt about a million times more optimistic about everything (I can only take so much dreariness!) Joey and I went shopping for our yard and he picked out a palm tree which was super funny when we tried to fit it into the car. I felt like I was suddenly transported to the tropical confines of The Mirage!

My client, Sasha Gulish totally made my day when she sent over some business cards we just did featuring her new identity with a really sweet note. We have a few more projects in the works and then I’ll show everything at once.

This is one of my favorite outtakes from the Bazaar post I did earlier in the week. You can read more about the Bazaar redesign here.

On Tuesday, I had lunch with not only my mom (who’s in town visiting) but also my two aunts. I left with bags of gifts and a full belly. A pretty much perfect afternoon! This was taken at my favorite thai restaurant in Portland, My Thai Bistro.

These are my favorite glasses which i’ve had for probably 10 years. I’m surprised they’re not all broken by now with as often as we use them.

The new J. Crew catalog (also shown above) is really inspiring me right now. I’ll share some more scans in an upcoming post but for now, check out those GRAY GLASSES!

One of my favorite details in our house is this archway when you walk into the dining room. Now that you can see our new light, I like it even more. On the subject of making a house a home, we’ve got some big messes to conquer this weekend (big, big, big). Life, living spaces, relationships and careers….are always a work in progress. Have a fantastic weekend!

I’m not much of a car buff but am totally enamored with this pristine Nash that I’ve been spotting around Portland lately. It’s impossible to ignore; just look at those curves!

I snapped this on the way home from shooting these photos. I was wearing Wolford Crazy Maze tights.

My sweet sweet Rocky hiding out in bed…I love him so much.

My current desktop is a shot from the new Beyoncé site which sounds a bit random but the type throughout has really been inspiring me.

I stopped by Schoolhouse over the weekend with my dad to pick up a custom order (which I’m super excited to share here next week). Loving these pillows by Egg Press as well.

This shot didn’t make it into my Typofiles post this week but I still really loved this collection of vintage Urban Outfitters catalogs.

On Saturday, my dad took me out to lunch at my favorite German restaurant, Gustav’s for fondue. I’m incredibly lucky to have great parents that are both young at heart. Speaking of parents, my mom is flying in from Phoenix for a visit tomorrow and I can’t wait to see her…I hope you have a great weekend ahead of you as well!

As I was walking to lunch with my friend Pam on a perfect Spring afternoon yesterday, we spotted this cherry red motorcycle with sidecar. Very tempting to take for a spin, huh?

My new favorite shoes remind me of dying easter eggs as a kid. Fun!

Last Friday, I stopped by Nemo to see the Boxes of Death 3D show featuring 50 artists and 50 coffins. There was so much awesome work lining the hallway but honestly, I barely got a glimpse of most of it because the place was packed with what seemed like a few hundred folks. One of the best turnouts for an art show I’ve ever seen! So nice to run into so many old friends.

My desktop looked like this for most of the week. Paris is definitely on my brain big time.

I love this sign so much, it always makes me smile. I’m pretty sure it’s for the crepe cart on 12th and Hawthorne. Anyone know for sure?

Over the weekend, Joey and I started researching and shopping for plants to finally pull our back yard together (you saw the path he just put in last week). He had his heart set on finding a palm tree and we finally tracked down the particular kind he wanted (we passed on the dwarfed one).

I can always appreciate a good Eames! Feeling excited about a bunch of projects I’m a part of and looking forward to my mom coming to visit in two weeks. Good times.

Our yard has never been a top priority. When you live in a very old house, there’s enough to worry about with updating the inside to a livable condition and the yard for us had become an afterthought. Joey’s been changing all that, working over the last few weeks to landscape it into something much, much better. My favorite addition so far has been this path that he installed; it leads from the back of our house to our soon-to-be mini bar (!!) These were standard concrete that he painted white.

I finally had the change to sit down and read this article which I found thought-provoking, if not a bit alarmist in its statements. The comments are great as well.

No matter how many times I’ve moved or what I’ve gone through in life, I’ve aways held onto my record collection. I was flipping through them over the weekend and this cover by one of my favorite designers, Peter Saville stood out in particular. I love how it’s from 1987 but feels very of the moment. Timeless design, that’s something I hugely admire.

My cousin came down from the mountain and picked me up for some weekend fun. Nice sticker.

In an effort to pick up more non web-based inspiration, I flipped through an old issue of HOW and came across this beautiful image from a SCAD lookbook. So good!

I’m really happy with the way the Solestruck PDX shopping bags came out during our recent collaborations. I presented so many other designs and they chose the simplest one which when it comes to retail, is often the most effective.

And with that, I’m off for some new adventures and then hopefully heading up to my grandparent’s cabin later this weekend for Easter.

I believe in keeping inspiration close. And this Love Life print by Antigirl is one of my favorite reminders to embrace every moment and opportunity that comes my way. Last week, I took it into Michael’s (a craft store chain) to get a quote on custom framing and even with a coupon, I was told that the total would still be a few hundred dollars (my eyes quite literally bulged out of my head)! As I walked away from the counter feeling defeated, Joey noticed the exact sized frame I needed down a side aisle, marked down to $14.99! Perfect. My office is a much happier place now.

I just found out about The Lab Magazine and needless to say, I’m in love. The design is beautiful, the content is insightful and I can’t get enough of their choices in typography. To me, magazines are even more important now than ever before. I buy them by the bunches just to have that real life inspiration close because it just doesn’t feel refreshing to spend every waking moment on the internet. Plus, it’s always good to break up your routine!

This weekend when I stopped by Schoolhouse with my dad to make a very special purchase I’d been planning for months, I visited the Ristretto Roasters inside for the first time. Truly one of the best coffees we’ve had in our entire lives. And I couldn’t stop snapping photos of their rad sign, emblazoned with a healthy dose of crosses.

Also inside of Schoolhouse is a great little florist shop, Anna Mara Flowers.

Even though my personal style tends to veer more towards the modern, I always love the displays at Schoolhouse. I knew the place was cool but now I’m completely enamored knowing that they let llamas in!!!! The one on the right has a slight resemblance to my very handsome friend, Nigel.

After Schoolhouse, I wandered through N.W. Portland and it occurred to me that this is as close as we’re gonna get to San Francisco here. Star, please move in!

My tax guy has a great sense of humor.

On Wednesday, Solestruck had a private event at their PDX retail location showcasing their selection for next season. They have the best staff — really, they make you feel so welcome and you know how rare that can be in retail! I got quite the surprise when I walked in and noticed the patrons holding the shopping bags that I’d designed many months earlier and long forgotten about! In other exciting news, my brother shot the Portland section of the new Solestruck lookbook. People sometimes ask if it’s weird living in the same house as a sibling and both being designers…and I always respond with, “not really.” Living with family is pretty awesome.

Finally, I leave you with this hilarious cover….from September 2010. The web is dead. It’s just resting. Paper is dead, too. It’s been an action-packed week and I’m so looking forward to taking it easy this weekend, getting in some good times with friends and sending a project that I’ve grown very attached to off to print.

Welcome to The Week In Pictures! Ah man, it’s been a looooong week. I was doing trend research for five days straight which sounds like a blast (endlessly perusing the interwebs!) but when there’s deadlines and a detailed strategy involved and you hit hour ten of sitting in front of the screen and your eyeballs feel like they’re gonna pop out of your head, the initial excitement evaporates. Definitely gotta recharge and refocus this weekend and get in some family time. My work / life balance has been super off lately and it’s time to remedy that.

I just picked up a bunch of new design books, a few of which include how to build portfolios (both online and off). I built mine based on my own research at the time so it will be interesting to see how the strategy in these books potentially differs. I know that for many of us, portfolios are always a work in progress so I’ll be reviewing these in future posts.

Sweet little Rocky is always so patient, lounging while I’m working. He’s quite the cuddler, too (shhh, wouldn’t want to wreck his tough guy reputation. After all, he’s named after the Rocky).

My favorite weekend routine is to go out to breakfast with Joey at Paradox (very vegan-fiendly) and then follow up with a vanilla latte and scone at Stumptown. I love the E A T sign inside Paradox.

There’s beauty everywhere around us. Ever since I got Instagram, I pay more attention to the little details.

Bianca always gives me a good laugh. It’s hard being so far away from so many of my close friends but chatting about past presidents and their jaunty attire cheered me up this week. Bianca’s hash tag for presidents she’s madly in love with: #forefatherwood

On March 22nd here in Portland, it snowed. SNOWED. Everyone was tweeting me, going “It’s 80 degrees where I am!!!!” Go ahead, rub it in! Haha. Come on, Spring! I’m off to finish a project that’s been trailing me now for months and get in that said family time. Have an awesome weekend, everyone!

One of my least favorite things to deal with ever are taxes. You agree? Really, what’s worse than taxes? Going to the dentist? It’s always a roll of the dice…hope for the best and expect the worst!

Over the weekend, I took a break from tax hell to take my favorite little friend, Rocky to Laurelhurst Park. Of course he had to terrorize a few dogs twice his size and get filthier than I’ve ever seen him!

One of my favorite hangouts is the Badgad Theatre. I joined my dad there Friday night to catch up and share my Vegas adventures. I’ve been struggling lately with the work / life balance and am trying to fit in family time whenever I can.

My mess of a desk featuring one of my favorite books of all time, which I’ve been revisiting a lot as of late.

Yesterday on a leisurely walk I popped into a vintage furniture store and spotted this absolutely amazing and completely immaculate couch. Anyone have a ladies’ lounge in need of some rad furniture? And with that, I’m off to finish my taxes and wrap up some projects. Have a great weekend!