enJOY it

for the love of august.

August 11, 2015

studio calico mega date stamp, purl bee DIY felt alphabet, thug life mama bear tee, present and correct stationery alphabet, I screen you screen conan o'brian quote print, liz mosley's round-up of instagram hand-letterers to follow, urban outfitters letter E (and others) mug, olive yew name bracelet.

Heavy on the TYPE-RELATED this month. Man, the Internet is rad.

And, yes. For sure. It's August, it's still very much summer. But that autumn season is creeping up and I feel it in the most subtle and obvious ways…pinning more sewing projects, starting to almost consider knitting, getting anxious to have tea in the evenings, loving the idea of layers. It's going to be a very good remaining few months of 2015.
weekend links / 76.

August 8, 2015

some cool stuff from around the Internet this week…

feel like a pep-talk?

interesting point on "the make-up tax."

a co-worker of Paul's recently told him about this book. I'm intrigued!

brilliant photo calendar idea!

cute in every color.

great post about meal prep, I'd love to work something similar into my weekend routine.

what a fantastic quote from Mindy Kaling.

"What I wish I’d known in college is that most people’s work shape-shifts in unforeseeable ways." – four steps to choosing a college major.

#doitfortheprocess…wise words from Emily Jeffords

I wear this beautiful ring on my index finger in honor of Ellerie and think I might add this simple one when the new baby arrives.

how to write a condolence note.

loving this DIY bench.

yep, found my next sewing project.
around here.

August 7, 2015

I took the photo above of a door at my local print shop. Here's a link to the artist!

This week I had one of those days. Those days that come out of nowhere and have me questioning everything I'm doing.

NO SERIOUSLY. WHAT AM I DOING? How am I trying to part-time this very full-time job? How do I think I can take Tuesdays and Thursdays off?! What about the emails? The emails keep coming in. The contracts need to be signed. The proofs need approval. The checks need to go out the door. Nobody cares that it's Tuesday. Nobody cares that your kid chose today as a non-nap day. Also, why did you decide no bread for 30 days was a good idea? Wouldn't a PB&J on toasted sourdough taste amazing right about now as everything comes crashing down? Also, can you please sign this?

I'm exaggerating. Sort of. On the real problems vs. pretend problems spectrum, my crap is so very far to the right. I know. I know it's all good. I know I can wait a day. I know "they" can wait a day. I know Ellerie will nap again. I know Paul will eventually come home from work and help out. I know that peanut butter is always an option and the return to bread will be triumphant.

But sometimes you're spiraling and even the dumbest stuff starts feeling really effing difficult.

And that was my Tuesday.

When I lamented a bit on Instagram Wednesday morning, I got a lot of really sweet comments of the "oh mama, I hear you and I've been there before" variety which is just the greatest. It's wonderful to remember we're all in this together. I also got a few of the "thanks for admitting that you struggle with this" comments. To those I say:

YOU GUYS. OH MAN. I struggle all the time. Just because I don't file it neatly into my Instagram grid doesn't mean I am not constantly looking for the groove that works for our family. And just when the groove does seem to click in to place, the record skips and the business changes or Ellerie changes or Paul's schedule changes or a large appliance breaks and we have to re-find our rhythm. The only thing I can count on is that as soon as I find a groove I'll shortly be looking for a new one.

But as I have made way too clear over the years, I chose this and continue to choose it every day. Even when it feels hard. Even when I am crying and sweating the middle of a bank on a Tuesday afternoon and I have no idea what the point of all this is, I'd pick it again.

And again. And again.

And I'm rooting for you too. Keep choosing what's working. Keep working on your choices.
whole30 wrap up.

August 6, 2015

Today (Wednesday when I am writing this) is the last day of Whole30.

I'm super excited to be completing the program.

First – I wasn't perfect. Close, but not really. So if you're a purist, I did not complete Whole30. But I did adjust my diet for 30 consecutive days. I did remove all dairy, gluten and all forms of real or artificial sugars. I didn't eat any peanut butter and (this should be no surprise given that I'm pregnant) I didn't have any alcohol.

Second – I gained four pounds in the five weeks between prenatal appointments that spanned about the same time period as my Whole30 experiment. I wasn't trying to lose weight (again, pregnant) so I am glad to know that I gained a healthy pregnancy weight throughout. As a sidenote: Paul, my husband, lost about six pounds and he didn't follow the rules as strictly as I did.

SO WHAT DID I THINK?

Overall … it was a good exercise. As mentioned, we decided to do this more as a "meal jumpstart" to get some new recipes going than anything else.

The best "habit" takeaways :

More veggies at dinner. We ate so much green stuff this past month. It was awesome. I learned better ways to prep (thank you food processor) and cook our veggies (tons of fresh garlic). I see us sticking with tons of veggies at dinner for the long-term.

Left-overs for lunch. We did a decent job making extra dinner food so Paul had something to take to work and I had something to eat the next day that didn't require a lot of prep. This is easy and cheap and something I hope we keep up with.

No random snacking. To be clear, I ate plenty of snacks on whole30 – usually fruit which isn't recommended but it is what it is. What I didn't do was grab a handful of crackers or pirates booty or something else random and "easy" out of the pantry. When I ate a snack it was more deliberate. Something that I quickly prepped and then "took a break" to eat. In general, that's probably a good habit to keep up.

But…

I feel the same physically today as I felt when I started. I felt good when we started. And I feel good now. I never noticed the sugar crash or headache issues that are often talked about. I didn't have a significant lack of or burst of energy at any point. It would be interesting to try it again when I wasn't pregnant to see if I notice a difference when I am more strict with not snacking.

I am going to do the food re-introduction and see if I notice a reaction to dairy or gluten or soy/beans/peanuts. If I do, that would obviously influence my "results" and I'll be sure to report back if anything crazy pops up.

So FOR ME, the reason that the program started to drag on was much more mental than physical. I wasn't physically craving cheese or bread. But I like cheese and bread. When Ellerie asks to make "dough?" I like to make dough and grill a pizza for dinner. I like to go out for coffee and get a really well made cappuccino. I like to stand behind the counter and order my favorite donut on a Saturday morning. I like to look at a menu at a great restaurant and see options, not land-minds.

"Food is fuel." You hear this a lot. I have dealt with "food issues" in years past and have subscribed to this theory. But now? Today? Food is fun. Food is not an enemy or a savor. It's not bad or good. It's a part of life. I like to enjoy food. Whenever possible, I like that food to be whole, healthy, delicious and well-made but I am not adverse to bread, sugar, dairy or alcohol. My food mentality for the past four years has been everything in moderation and it's served me really well. If anything, trying Whole30 helped me to remember that.

So that's my honest take. I'm not going to go crazy and make all this tomorrow, but I'm going to eat some cheese. And in November, I am going to enjoy some wine. (I miss red wine.)
my fave podcasts.

August 5, 2015

These past few months (while it's been too hot to walk in the afternoons) I've started to get long evening walks into my daily routine. When he's home, Paul puts Ellerie down to sleep and around that time, I slip out the front door. I'm generally aiming for at least a 30 minute walk but sometimes, if I have a lot of steps until I hit 10k, I go for longer. (Read more about my fitbit driven activity level here.)

My route is not super interesting, usually just up and down my long street (it's got a decent hill which is great) but my podcasts keep the routine from feeling boring.

First things first, I am always looking for podcasts that do two things: entertain AND teach me something. I don't care how random the topic, but I do hope to learn something. And the entertain part is obviously personal preference. Something I find entertaining might bore you death and vice-versa.

Second, what I love about podcasts is that if you don't like an episode or are ten minutes in and can't even remember what you've heard you can stop listening. It's free. It's quick. It's easy. I always load my phone with three or four episodes so if on a walk I realize I don't care about what's happening, I can just start a new one. Podcasts are a very low-risk investment.

Some of my faves:

Freakanomics Radio / I just started this one and it's good. I always learn a little business lesson from them even though that is not exactly the point. I love that there is a huge back-log of episodes to listen to as well so I just pick a topic that seems interesting. The failure episode was great. The most recent on how to create suspense was good. And although it was different, I really enjoyed the interview with Aziz Ansari.

This American Life / the first time I listened to one of these episodes I was like "seriously? People love this?" but I think it just was a dud episode for me. I'd say 80% of these are so interesting and cover the most wide variety of topics from police brutality to amusement parks. What's frustrating is that you can't access the backlogged episodes via iTunes (but you can via their site) so it's hard to "go-back" and pick favorites to listen to. However, if you're going to start with an old one, I loved "If you don't have something nice to say, SAY IT IN ALL CAPS".

Start-Up / I've talked about this before. Season 1 of this was really different from anything I had heard before. It took place "in order" meaning you had to listen to all of them to get what what happening and it told the story of launching a start-up podcast business. It was charmingly awkward and I really enjoyed it. Season 2 told the story of a different start-up company and while I listened to and looked forward to every episode it didn't quite hook me like season 1 did. I would still recommend though, might be a good fit for you.

Mystery Show / from Start-Up, I learned about Mystery Show which is a podcast that attempts to solve a mystery. It's crazy stuff like "did Britney Spears really read and enjoy a book I wrote?" or "how tall is Jake Gyllenhaal really?" (those were my favorite episodes for sure.) It's kind of crazy the stuff the host figures out and also very sweet.

Invisibila / this show is on hiatus, but I loved every single episode they put out last winter in their short season one. The point is to cover topics that we can't see, connections, categories, fear, etc. I was totally fascinated and can't wait for this to return.

99% Invisible / another show that's been around for a long time so the backlogged episode list goes on forever. I think I have listened to most of them. Episodes are short and cover a specific (random) design-related topic like chairs, barbed wire or palm trees. It's not something you think you're particularly interested in learning more about but then you listen and get a quick history lesson wrapped in a neat package.

Serial / if you haven't already listened to the Serial podcast then…do. One story, told week by week. Start at the beginning. And then wait with me for a totally new topic for us all to get interested in when they launch Season 2. A lot of people have told me about the Undisclosed Podcast which looks closer at the Adnan case. I tried it and couldn't get into it at all. Worth another shot?

What else should I be listening to?

+

And of course, it's Wednesday so there is a new episode of my podcast, ELISE GETS CRAFTY, available. This week I am chatting with Ali and Katie about working on, not just in your business. Subscribe or stream here.
august : currently.

August 4, 2015

feeling almost sad to have the baby quilt finished and…

wondering what my next project will be.

officially doing business as Elise Joy, Inc. (what?!)

spending a lot of time on the phone with my accountant. 😉

finally seeing Intersteller (it was pretty good!)

looking forward to being done with Whole30.

joining Ali for Week in the Life later this month.

starting all our mornings at the park.

finding this article about the earthquake that could devastate the PNW horrifying.

putting the finishing touches on the 2016 GTWB pre-order launch.

eating all the figs I can find at Trader Joe's.

nesting by setting up all our household products to come through the Amazon Subscribe and Save program (you mean I might never run out of bar soap again?)

finishing Everything I Never Told You.

and getting into Where They Found Her.

walking 30-45 minutes a night and cherishing that time.

hoping all the extra physical activity this pregnancy has reduced my chance at having GDM again.

ordering this sweet tee for Ellerie to wear when "baby seester" arrives.

marveling that this year has been insane so far and we're barely halfway through it.
quilt for baby two.

August 3, 2015

I got the quilt finished up late Thursday night. My hold-up is always getting the top together. The rest, sandwiching, quilting and binding tends to go so quick for me.

Just like with Ellerie's quilt, I waited to wash the fabrics until AFTER I had sewn it all together. This is totally personal preference and not something I have always done or will always do. What it means is that everything shrinks after being sewn (unlike when you pre-wash your fabrics and they shrink before sewing). The result is that soft, puckered look you see above. I know from experience (and dozens of washes of Ellerie's quilt) that it settles overtime.

The two quilts are very similar with the exact same size (45×60 inches) and pattern (equilateral triangles). I went with colors that complimented the other but still are unique. Both have pink, peach, cream and coral but Ellerie's is more gray and baby two's is more brown/tan.

I backed this one with a tan fabric to fit with the colors on the front. With triangles this small (they are 4.5 inches pre-washed) there are a lot of lines to be quilted which makes for such a pretty back side. The binding is machine stitched on because I know these blankets will be used a lot over the years.

Ahhh, so addicting. I bought fabric for this before we knew boy or girl and so that means I also have fabric for a boy quilt (it will go to a friend). I think I want to try something totally different. We'll see.
weekend links / 75.

August 1, 2015

Happy August! Some fun finds this week…

I'm excited to be contributing to this online class about Marketing for Creatives.

a plant drawing everyday for 100 days.

interesting article about backyard houses.

handstamped baby blankets!

beautiful sketches out of coffee.

53 books you won't be able to put down.

imagining this bold print framed with a huge white mat.

Dallas Clayton is so cool.

hipster logo guide (this is so funny).

turn any cup into a sippy cup.

working smarter not harder on your small creative business.

simple DIY plant hanger.

cute chambray dress.

& final weekend to shop the Nordstrom anniversary sale.
baby quilt progress.

July 31, 2015
I woke up Wednesday morning and decided it was time to finish this quilt! I started it right before Get To Work Book started shipping and then obviously had to take a break for a bit. But soon I'll be shipping GTWB again and so it was time to clear it off my desk. Plus, I'm super excited to see the two quilts (here's Ellerie's) side-by-side.

Ellerie says "oh for baby seester?" whenever she sees me working on it and then I have to take a quick break while my heart bursts. Making progress though! Just the binding left to go which is usually pretty quick for me.

ps. here's a post about how I like to select fabrics.

Other posts you might enjoy:
toddler + baby room.

July 30, 2015

Over the weekend we finished up Ellerie & baby girl number two's (who we are 99% sure has a name but I'll most likely not share it until she's here) room. I am so happy with how it turned out and really happy that it was a fairly inexpensive make-over.

You can see what Ellerie's room looked like before she was born here.

The biggest changes were the tape walls and some furniture re-arranging.

Originally, I thought I would do a "baby side" and a "toddler side" with play stuff in the middle but it ended up being an awkward use of space. So we switched everything and now have a pretty clear sleep side and play side. The result is what feels like almost two rooms! It feels like we gained a lot of floor space this way, which is great.

The current plan is to get Ellerie sleeping in the toddler bed sometime over the next three months. The baby will sleep in the crib for some naps but mostly sleep in a bassinet in our room for the first eight weeks. The girls will share that dresser/changing table (diapers on top, baby clothes next, then Ellerie clothes in the bottom two drawers). Because the baby will be in our room for nights, we are also going to have a small changing station in there.

I kept the same curtains, bookshelf and striped rug, but added an additional rug (from Target) in front of the dresser where there is a lot of foot traffic. The frames and art are mostly the same with some new fun additions. I'm still working on a DIY rope rug that I'd love to add into the space. We'll see if my sewing machine will handle it.

With more floor space, I was able to bring in a small table and chairs – $25 from Ikea, are you kidding me? It's the same set that Ellerie is used to at daycare and it's been a huge hit. The Pottery Barn cubbies are getting a lot of use too.

I moved Ellerie's art wall over to the opposite side of the room. The art is just taped up with red masking tape, nothing special and it holds well without marking up our walls.

I ended up hanging just three gods-eyes because I found that with the tape, we didn't need much extra. I'm happy with how they turned out in just one corner. When we get closer to the due date, I'll paint a similar "you are so loved" canvas to hang next to the flamingo canvas over the crib.

That tape itself was super easy. I cannot stress how easy. I bought two rolls of three colors (mint, orange, and peach) and it was enough to do five stripes of each color on my walls. I angled it to match the ceiling but didn't measure or worry too much about it. Overall, it's great to work with. Just attach to one side then hold on and walk to the other side of the wall. Pull tight to get it straight and stick into place. Then go back and smooth it out. Here's a stop motion video of me attaching some. If it doesn't look right, you have some flexibility (at least my walls did) and you can move it around a bit. I didn't do anything special to "prep" the wall and I don't plan to use anything special to keep it up. It's tape! If it falls or peels, it falls or peels. I'm not worried about it.

Again, I'm so happy with how it came together. We have a three bedroom house and I work from home and need the office space so there was never any plan to give the kids (regardless of gender) separate rooms. I love that they are sharing and can't wait to see them together.

PRODUCT SOURCES : hanging lamp, toddler bed, table, bookshelf, easel, curtains, curtain rod, dark brown frame are all from Ikea. striped tape from oh happy day shop. dresser is vintage. crib is babyletto. striped rug and pink striped basket from Home Goods. diamond rug from Target. wooden cubbies from Pottery Barn (and still on sale!). large frames are from Aaron Brothers. teddy bear from Costco. California bear print from 3 Fish Studios. elephant print from Fox Hollow Design Studio. Flamingo canvas was handmade but prints available here. chalkboard printable art from Caravan Shoppe. quilt, canvas and gods-eyes are mama made.