{yes to adventure!}

Today we took the boys back-to-school shopping and I was beyond excited to go to Target and Panera (they are an hour away!) so I decided a quote about adventure was in order...

After the ink...

I think my favorite part is the little "Yes!" flag on the mountain...

The idea of sticking your "Yes!" flag in things that excite you is fun, right?

I wanted a vintage 80's color vibe on this one and when I googled that phrase this is what I found...

So awesome right?! 😂 But the colors were exactly what I was looking for. 

So I guess you could say I gave this one a little "Who's the Boss" treatment. Here's how it turned out!

This might be one of my all time favorites. It makes me happy and kinda want to climb a mountain, or at least go on a hike. 

Hope your weekend includes some adventure!

XO,

{magazine feature}

Happy weekend friends! 

I feel like I have SO much catching up to do with you here on the blog.

I hope you are settling into your weekend as well as we are here at our house. I have already had chips & guac and taken a nap on the couch...so you could say I'm definitely in weekend mode. 

I wanted to share with you a fun magazine feature I got to do recently in the alumni magazine of my alma mater, IU East! 



I graduated in 2001 and the crazy thing is I did probably less than a handful of drawings during my college years, and about the same amount in the 12 years since, until three years ago when I began drawing daily. I would have never dreamed of this artist journey during my college days.

I'm so pleased with how the entire article turned out, from the photos to the writing to the coloring pages they commissioned me to create. They wanted me to make one page that was an IU East theme, so included the mascot, logo, and one of the buildings. They gave me free reign on the other page so of course I included an encouraging handlettered quote. And they perforated the coloring pages - so perfect. 

Here are a couple screenshots of the article, and you can view the online version here.

A wonderful bonus from this was a great set of photos from the local photographer, Greg Pyle. I've already added a few to my website! Here are a couple favorites...

  

This is one of the super fun parts of where my art has taken me so far and I'm so thankful for the local support. Richmond is a great little town. 

Happy weekend and I'll be sharing a #100daysofyourtruth update soon!

XO,

{custom illustration}

I finished two custom pieces for a local friend yesterday and am so happy with how they turned out. Here is one of the pieces in progress and finished...

I'm really enjoying the process of creating these. If you have a special quote or saying you would like me to illustrate for you, I'm always taking custom orders!

XO,

{#100daysofyourtruth update}

Happy Wednesday friends!

Thought it was time to share a little update on my 100 day project. Hard to believe, but I've completed 70 out of 100 quotes! Whew! 

I haven't been digitizing/coloring them lately because it is so time consuming, although lots of fun! I'm hoping to catch up with a few of them, but I felt the need to simplify the past few weeks as we got through our kitchen renovation and enjoyed some much needed time with the boys.

The idea of slowing down inspired this one...

And I have a feeling I'll be using that new subway tile as a photo prop quite a bit! 

Hope you're having a great week!

XO,

{kitchen reno update part 2}

Oh I am BEYOND happy to share with you that for all intents and purposes, our kitchen reno is DONE!

Goodness that 7-ish weeks felt like an eternity! 

We still need to do some painting...white on the walls and a pop of turquoise on the island surround, but anything that we hired someone else to do is finished! 

It is all so bright and white and pretty. I don't know if I can pick a favorite thing. I'll post again when everything is 100% done but for now here is how it is looking!

Oh this backsplash makes me all kinds of happy. This photo was pre-grout but we went with gray so not much of a difference in the finished look...

The open shelving is from IKEA and is making me giddy! I couldn't resist plopping some dishes on it two seconds after the contractors left and snapping a few pictures. 

And now for a  good corner view of everything...

The upper cabinets, sink and drawer pulls are also IKEA. We purchased the lower cabinets and countertop (formica if you can believe it!) from Lowe's. 

And I actually smiled while washing dishes the other night... 

That Mrs. Meyers lemon dish soap didn't hurt! I'm obsessed with anything lemon scented these days. 

And because we all love a good before and after...

Holy cow right?

I've been pinning kitchen ideas ever since we moved into this house over seven years ago and really didn't know if we would ever be able to do this. It is a dream come true! 

And I really want to encourage you by adding that even though this wasn't inexpensive, we did it on a lower budget and income, so it is possible friends! Here are some examples of how we saved money...

We have a TON of countertop, and with formica it was only around $700 for the entire counter. No need to spend thousands on granite or solid surface to get a beautiful counter. The farmhouse sink from IKEA is only $300 which is a bargain. And it is a monster...so much room in that thing! Our faucet was an $80 Ebay find. The gas cooktop was $150 marked down from I think $400 in the IKEA clearance section. We have literally had it in a closet for like four years waiting for a new kitchen. The key is to be creative, think outside the box, and snatch up deals when you can!

Thanks so much to everyone that has joined in my excitement over this renovation. You are awesome!

XO,

{happy 4th!}

Here's to freedom!

XO,

{a little Rumi}

A little Rumi for this Saturday...

XO,