Sometimes you don't need words. You just need the one you love and can find comfort in.

This past week Jake and I got to spend a lot of time with our niece and nephew. It was actually the first time we got to meet our nephew, Adrian since he was just born a few months ago. We don't get to see them that often so I thought I should take this opportunity to show them off a little. They are just too cute. The week included a lot of Dora the Explorer, lots of baby bottles and even learning a few words in toddler language. Snacks refers to fruit snacks, Tiggs is Tigger whom Jocelyn can't live without and Papa is what she calls her grandpa. Evey time Adrian cries Jocelyn say "ohhh baby" in this really cute concerned voice. Our niece is completely in love with Jake and I think I can say the same for him. She even knows him by name. Jake and I made sure to spoil them a little while we were there. I love them so much I can hardly stand it. Next time we see them Adrian will probably be walking and Jocelyn will be talking in complete sentences although she is doing pretty good for her age right now. Sigh...kids grow up too fast.

Sorry we didn't post at all last week. Jake and I had a family emergency and had to make an unexpected trip to Colorado and we just got back last night. Being home made me miss the quaintness of a smaller town where you can have lovely picnics like this one. Out here in California a lot of people have lemon and orange trees in their yard. That is just so cool to me. Anytime you want fresh fruit you can just step out your backdoor.

Source: Alexan Events

Source: Anthropologie

To my delight, I just discovered that Anthropologie has children's items. Anthropologie is one of my favorite shops, although I mostly just look and don't buy. They can be pretty pricey. I like to say there is nothing wrong with a little eye candy. Surprisingly though most of their children's items are pretty affordable. My favorite are the wooden alphabet blocks. I had some just like those that my mom bought me for my first birthday. Kid stuff is so cute and fun and when its combined with the style of Anthropologie it is pure bliss.

Last weekend I fulfilled one of my lifetime goals: seeing "Weird Al" Yankovic in concert. I know that sounds really strange and hard for most people to relate to, but his music has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember listening to music. My oldest brother, who introduced Weird Al to me when we were kids, also came with us. We thoroughly enjoyed the show. And even though Jamie didn't grow up listening to him, she had a blast too.

The Fox Performing Arts Center is about an hour away from LA in Riverside, California. It was an extremely intimate setting and we were only six row back, right in the middle of the row. At one point they shot off confetti and we stuffed a bunch of it into Jamie's purse to keep as souvenirs. Afterwards my brother and I both bought t-shirts. It was an experience I'll never forget. I'm so blessed to have a wife who enjoys going to a Weird Al concert with me.

Source: Judy the Jazz Cat

Our first apartment lease is coming to an end. We got a letter in the mail a few days ago from management that so kindly told us, if we don't tell them we are moving in the next few weeks that our lease will automatically be renewed for another year. Jake and I weren't planing on moving anytime soon. We like our apartment and over the last year have made it ours. I just don't like that fact that we are tied down for another year and even if we wanted to move we couldn't. I guess that's the life of renting. Oh rental sweet rental.

I like Summer. It's not my favorite season, but it does seem to be the season where everyone travels. Kids are out of school and the sun is out. Don't these posters make you want to visit these places? They remind me of those vintage postcards you could find in any souvenir shop, but with a better, more thought out design. I picked out some of my favorite classic travel posters, but the Anderson Design Group has so many more neat ones.

Source: Anderson Design Group

Growing up, every Summer my parents would pack up our car and take us on a road trip to Colorado. My mom always let us pick one package of candy that we could take with us for the long car ride. We would wake up at about 3 in the morning to start our trip. Of course as soon as my brother, sister, and I where in the car we fell right back to sleep. We always traveled with friends. My dad had a CB radio so we could communicate with the other car and everyone even had special CB names. Some of places we went would still get cold at night. Since we camped the real way (in tents) my dad would bundle us up so tight in our sleeping bags that only our little faces shown through. Then in the morning we would wake up and eat cereal with half frozen milk in it. I loved it. I had a lot of fun on those trips. Jake and I aren't planing any summer vacation this year, I would like to go camping though. Are you making any special trips this summer? If you are can I at least travel vicariously through you?

Source: Dara Quesada

I hope you're ready, because it's time for a new week. Did you have a good weekend? Jake and I went on a date Friday evening. First we walked to the Farmer's Market for dinner and then we went and saw Super 8 at the theatre. It was fantastic (loud, but fantastic). We both highly recommend it, but watch the trailer first so you know what you're getting yourself into.

I realized that I haven't really been posting about my work since I quit my job to persure my own graphic design. Well, since then I have been consistently busy with work for actual clients. We haven't even had time to advertise our services and yet people keep wanting to hire us for design. I can not tell you how blessed I feel. It feels like a confirmation that I'm doing what I'm suposed to. When I can I'll post some of the designs we've been working on. Jake has been an amazing support and I'm so lucky to have someone who encourages me in every aspect of my life.

The other day I was looking through this book titled Creative Inc. written by two women as a guide to running your own creative freelance business. It looks like a really resourceful book. I didn't end  up buying it, but as I flipped through the pages I saw that these women dedicated the book to their husbands. I wish I could remember their exact wording. It made me laugh but at the same time was really sweet. It said something along the lines of thanking their husbands for encouraging them in their pursuit of a non-traditional career.

It's all because of Jake that I get to do what I'm doing. So until I write a book to dedicate to Jake, a simple thanks in a blog post will have to do. Here's to another week of hard work. Go get'em Tiger!

Source: Loyal Loot

Aren't these just amazing? I love the rough wood texture against the smooth and shiny bright colors. These bowls are made from reclaimed wood logs gathered by hand in Alberta by Loyal Loot. I'm sure there is a lot of precise time and effort put it to each of these bowls, but I can't help but think, I would like to try making something like that. Then again, I say that to just about everything.

The first time I saw the ocean was a couple years back. I had to travel all the way across the pond to England to see the ocean for the first time. I was so excited. I could even taste the salt in the wind. It was big, blue and beautiful. Now I live only a few miles from the ocean (although those few miles could take you a good while if the traffic is bad) We haven't gone yet this year. We are still waiting for the perfect day which consists of no work, clear sky and temperatures above 75 degrees.

You know that plack you see hanging in everyone's house? The one that says "Home is where the heart is".  Well I think that quote has run it's course. It's kind of like when you have too much of a good thing.

Here is a quote to replace it. I like this version better anyway. It's clever, kind of corny, but fun.

Source: They Will See Me

Source: Pink Orchid_Too

For a while now, I've been saying I want to write a children's book. There is just something about children's books that are so sweet and innocent. As a kid I remember crawling into my parents' bed and my parents reading to me. Those are some of my sweetest memories.

Source: Left: Olivia the Piglet; Right: The Heart and the Bottle; Bottom: Beatrix Potter

Beween Jake and I, I think it would be a really fun project to take on together. Plus we have 5 beautiful nieces and nephews so if it turned out it would be fun to give it to them. I haven't really decided what it would be about. I just need to take some time and mesh out my ideas. Of course we would want to print it on our letterpress and maybe even try and figure out how to bind it.

Source: Winnie the Pooh

I love the vintage style of some of these books. That would fit perfectly with the letterpress. Hmmm, now we're thinking. 

I finally decided to take the plunge and try growing my own herb garden. So over the weekend Jake and I picked out some herbs and planted them in a pot. I really wanted rosemary and basil, but the lady in the garden area told me I couldn't grow those together. For now I just have chives and oregano. We set them on the ledge of our living room window. It's where we spend most of our time so hopefully I won't forget to water them. So far so good.

Morning Brew: A Good Day

Ever since Jake surprised me with my new smart phone I've been taking advantage of the alarm clock feature where you can set your alarm to play any song on your phone. My previous phone just let you to play those hideous noises that are made to make you wake up on the wrong side of the bed. In order to avoid one more morning of awful sounds, I quickly took action and downloaded one of my favorite songs appropriately titled A Good Day (Morning Song) by Priscilla Ahn and let me tell you my mornings just got better. It still takes me a while to fully wake up, but between this song and Jake bringing me fresh coffee, I can now face the morning without a frown.

Source: Jay B Sauceda

Jay B Sauceda is a photographer from Texas. I love his Sign Painters project full of now weathered hand-painted typography. His photos make me wish we had more of this type of signage nowadays. 

Now before I say anything, let me just clarify: Jake and I are not having babies anytime soon. Although they would be cute. If we were though, this would be top on my list of must have items.

Jake and I usually spend Saturday mornings drinking our coffee out in the living room while watching a little tv to help us wake up. The only things on are either children's shows or infomercials which is great for us since we are still half asleep. Usually I don't fall for their gimmicks, but I must admit that the Magic Bullet and Baby Bullet are particularly convincing. We already own the Magic Bullet which we got as a wedding present from our wonderful friends Aaron and Liz (which I love). Yes I know, the Magic Bullet could probably handle making baby food too, but this one has cute little faces on it and comes with so many fun extras! As you can see they have me completely convinced.

The Hauser has been my favorite looking apartment building ever since I came to LA. I used to pass it each day on the way to my internship during my semester of film school. None of the other buildings on Hauser Blvd. are anywhere near as cool looking. I just love the fact that someone took the time to design the 50s style typography, integrate it into the architecture, and turn the side of a building into a memorable landmark.

It's like they took the words right out of my mouth. These are definitely words everyone should live by and the beautiful typography just makes them better.

Source: Keep Calm Gallery